


Whispering Mysteries: The Grimoire

by TAFKAmayle



Series: Whispering Mysteries [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-26
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:40:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 22,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22913371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TAFKAmayle/pseuds/TAFKAmayle
Summary: Private Investigators Jeremy Dooley and Ryan Haywood face a new challenge a mere month after completing their first case together. Once again they delve into the mysterious and creepy world of the occult.TW: This fic contains a Ryan Haywood character.
Series: Whispering Mysteries [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1646938
Comments: 111
Kudos: 64





	1. Chapter 1

Jeremy frowned down at the mail he’d just retrieved from his mailbox as he brewed coffee. Postcard from San Juan, Puerto Rico. He flipped it to read the message.

_Hello lover!_

_Having loads of fun, but I wish you were here!_

_Yours,_

_Ray_

Jeremy’s hands shook. It’d been a month since the ritual, but it felt like it’d been yesterday. He shivered. He should give the postcard to Burns, he supposed. _Wish you were here._ He wondered if he was really there or if it was just a way to throw them off his scent. Jeremy sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. He needed to get back to working on something. He took a few calming breaths.

To Ryan: _Hey, do you have any cases you could use some help with?_

Jeremy set the phone on the counter, trying to pretend he wasn’t anxiously awaiting Ryan’s response. They’d only had a few short text conversations the last month and Ryan had told him to just let him know when he was ready for a new case. Jeremy had been ready for a month, but he hadn’t been ready to face Ryan.

_“I need a hero!”_

Jeremy jumped as his phone belted out Bonnie Taylor.

_“I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night!”_

He scrambled for his phone.

_“He’s gotta be strong and h-“_

He answered the call with an annoyed grunt.

“You changed my ringtone,” he accused into the phone.

“Yes, I did,” Ryan confirmed, sounding pleased with himself, “Anyway, can you come in to the office today? I’m meeting with a potential client.”

“Sure, what time?” Jeremy agreed, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

“Noon,” Ryan answered, “They saw our picture in the news and hoped we could help.”

Jeremy hummed in response. The award ceremony they’d gotten for the Circle case was the picture in question, no doubt. So the case probably had something to do with the occult. _Fantastic._ He rolled his eyes.

~

Jeremy raised his hand to knock on the door of the Haywood PI office when he heard a voice inside.

“Come on, Ry~!” Gavin coaxed, “You know you want-“

He stopped suddenly and Jeremy knocked before they figured out he was eavesdropping.

“Gavin, get off!” Ryan shouted, “You’re being a child! Come in, Jeremy!”

Jeremy pushed the door open and did his best to ignore the fact Gavin was on Ryan’s lap. He was looking positively _hungry_ and was bouncing as he tried to convince Ryan to do something. Meanwhile Ryan was pushing him away, scowling. As Jeremy got closer, Gavin hopped off Ryan’s lap to bounce over to Jeremy who stumbled back. He looks like he’s in predator mode. 

“Hello, _Barry,”_ Gavin laughed darkly.

Jeremy swallowed and found himself looking for exits. Gavin gripped his collar and hauled him in for a quick kiss that ended with him swiping his tongue across Jeremy’s lips. 

“Mm, yummy,” he hummed.

Jeremy went scarlet as Gavin pulled away. Then he was leaving and Jeremy just looked at Ryan with a “wtf” face and Ryan rolled his eyes.

“He gets aggressive when he hasn’t fucked in awhile,” he grunted, “He’s a bit of a spoiled brat about it.”

He straightened up, smiling at Jeremy.

“Anyway, I’m glad you came,” he informed him cheerfully, “You want to play good cop, bad cop?”

“Depends, which one am I?” Jeremy snorted.

“Good cop, obviously,” Ryan scoffed, “You as bad cop? Not likely.”

Jeremy’s insides were alight with arousal. It’d been too long, he wanted him, wanted any excuse to punish him. He walked around the desk and kicked Ryan’s office chair around to face him. Ryan flinched in surprise and Jeremy seized his collar. He propped one heavy boot next to Ryan’s knee as he leaned in. Ryan flushed and his eyes went dark. Jeremy felt a buzzing in his bones. 

“You forget your manners so soon, little boy?” Jeremy spoke, low and quiet, “Or are you just purposely provoking me?”

“I-I...I-I’m not-I d-didn’t mean-,” Ryan sputtered.

“You better say sorry real sweetly,” Jeremy growled, gripping Ryan’s face in one hand, “Unless you want me to bend you over this desk and beat your cute little ass until you scream.”

Ryan’s mouth fell open and a breathy moan puffed out, his eyelids drooping. Fuck, Jeremy wanted him. He shoved his mouth over Ryan’s, biting and mouthing urgently. He hadn’t seen him in a fucking month and he’d wanted him before that. Fire curled in him as he pushed back enough to grab at his belt. Ryan groaned, his face leaning towards Jeremy’s crotch. 

_Knock knock!_

“Damnit!” Jeremy hissed, pulling away.

He buckled his belt back as Ryan went for the door. His face was no doubt a very angry shade of tomato as he leaned against the wall. _Just get in the zone. Worry later._ Ryan was leading an angry looking man to the client side of the desk. The man threw a glare at Jeremy who narrowed his eyes at him and crossed his arms. This man was a criminal. He couldn’t remember exactly what kind, but Jeremy definitely recognized him. Ryan came around the desk, sitting in his chair, looking pink.

“Well, Mr. Hurt, this is Jeremy Dooley,” Ryan introduced, “He’s the one I told you about on the phone.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” Hurt greeted tightly, “I’ve heard you were the hero of the cultist incident.”

Jeremy snorted and rolled his eyes.

“Sure,” he muttered.

“Ahem, Mr. Hurt, would you care to explain your situation?” Ryan spoke up pleasantly.

“I’ve lost something quite precious to me,” Hurt explained, “An invaluable item that cannot possibly be priced.”

“But you’ll put a price on it, anyway,” Jeremy interrupted, “Considering you’re here.”

Ryan shot him an exasperated look and Hurt’s jaw clenched.

“I’m prepared to give up everything for this item,” he informed them, voice terse, “I cannot put a price on it, but I will pay any price and I will leave that decision to you.”

Jeremy smirked.

“Well, what is it then?” He prompted.

“It’s a grimoire,” Hurt replied, “It’s been in my family for generations. I believe it’s been taken by someone who intends to try to use it.”

“Great, more lunatics,” Jeremy grumbled. 

Ryan clicked his tongue and shot him an annoyed look. 

“Dooley,” He hissed, “Don’t be rude.”

Jeremy rolled his eyes.

“Whatever,” he muttered, “So what makes you think this?”

“Because I know who took it,” Hurt answered.

He reached in his suit jacket and Jeremy tensed as though he thought he was going for a gun. The man pulled out a Manila envelope and handed it over to Ryan. Ryan opened it and slid the contents out: several photos of a man in a cobalt silk suit. Jeremy pushed off the wall to look at the pictures. He was being given a large briefcase in one of the photos.

“Who took these?” Jeremy demanded, looking up at the man, “And why the hell were they watching him?”

The man scowled at him.

“It doesn’t matter,” he grunted.

“Who is this man to you?” Ryan spoke up, frowning at the photos, “Do you know why he’d want to take the book from you?”

“He’s a con artist,” Hurt answered, sighing, “We were in a relationship. As I understand it, he was after the book from the beginning.”

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” Ryan replied gently, “That must have been devastating.”

Jeremy snorted again, rolling his eyes. Ryan looked at him sharply, glaring.

“Dooley, I think it’s for the best if you step out for now,” he suggested through his teeth.

Jeremy grumbled under his breath, but left the office to wait outside the door. Awhile later, Hurt left and Ryan gestured Jeremy back inside. 

“Did it work?” He questioned.

“Yes, a rousing success!” Ryan chirped, clapping his hands together, “He basically wrote me an autobiography. Then suggested I go to dinner with him some time.”

Jeremy’s chest squeezed tightly at that as he sat down across the desk. A jealous fire in his belly reminded him how he felt about Ryan.

“So cobalt here,” Ryan started, pushing the photos across the desk, “Apparently belongs to a local coven of witches called Mortus Masi that has been after the grimoire for as many generations as Hurt’s family has owned it.”

“Seems pretty open and shut,” Jeremy muttered, “So why does he need us?”

“Well, he’s a criminal,” Ryan answered.

They both froze as realization dawned on them.

“Uh, it occurs to me that you may be adverse to my normal clientele,” Ryan muttered.

“I am an idiot,” Jeremy grumbled, covering his face.

_ Of course all his clients are criminals! He’s the fucking Vagabond! And all his friends are criminals as well!  _

“I’m sorry,” Ryan apologized, “I...I’ll just call you for the legitimate ones.”

He cleared his throat and Jeremy looked up.

“No, it’s okay,” Jeremy assured him, “It’s not like I hold that much loyalty to our justice system.”

_Considering they fired me._

“Are you sure?” Ryan questioned doubtfully.

Jeremy sighed with a shrug.

“Not really,” He admitted, “But I’m already a criminal now too, so it doesn’t matter.”

_And all my friends are criminals as well. Fucking hell. Where is my life going? Other than directly down the toilet. At least I have friends now._ He dropped his head in his hands and sighed again. Everything only seemed to get worse as time went on. There was too much crazy in his life now.

“Well, if you’re willing to work the case,” Ryan spoke up, “Then where would you like to start?”

Jeremy dropped his hands and looked up at him in surprise. _He wants **my** opinion?_

“I suppose we should seek out the thief,” he suggested.

He pointed out the photo that showed the briefcase being handed over.

“It’s possible they were just hired,” he reasoned, “So they-“

“May not hold any loyalty to the coven,” Ryan finished, nodding, “They don’t. I know the thief.”

“Why does that not surprise me?” Jeremy muttered.

Ryan stood up, sweeping up the photos.

“Come on, Watson!” He called cheerfully, “The game is afoot!”

“I hate you,” Jeremy grumbled as he hurried after him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: burns, blood, hand/face gore  
> I put asterisks before and after the description of the painting which features the above triggers. It’s not necessary to the story, but it adds more depth to Ryan’s character and Jeremy’s understanding of Ryan, so if you can deal with it, please do!!

“Do I have to be eye candy again?” Jeremy groaned as they pulled up outside Geoff’s gallery.

“No, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be,” Ryan answered, “Geoff and Gavin are both excited to see you again. They won’t stop texting me.”

He looked extremely irritated. 

“Gavin is especially eager,” he added, tone bitter, “Apparently you taste good. Whatever the fuck _that_ means.”

Jeremy blushed. He was pretty sure that was not the case. They went in the gallery and onto the elevator, immediately heading down to the basement. Jeremy wondered if Ryan was really allowed to bring him down there. Was Jeremy really a trusted person? Last time Geoff had tried to confiscate weapons. This time Jeremy actually had a weapon. 

Ryan led him down the direction Gavin had dragged him last time into a sort of office type area with tiled floors and many hallways. Jeremy hoped he didn’t need to remember the way back because he’d only considered it after they were halfway through the place. When they finally stopped, Ryan paused with his hand on the doorknob. He sighed, covering his face with his hands a moment before dropping them and looking at Jeremy.

“Wait out here,” he grunted.

Jeremy raised his eyebrows. _Why?_ Ryan went pink.

“I-I mean, pl-please wait,” he mumbled before opening the door.

“Unh, f-fuck, Geoff, fuck!” Gavin’s voice groaned.

Jeremy’s face went red as Ryan slipped in and closed the door behind him. _Ah. That’s why._ So did Gavin come here to bang Geoff after Ryan wouldn’t bang him? Also did they all just meet at a sex addicts anonymous group?! Why were they all such fucking horny bastards?! They must be rubbing off on him, since he was fucking horny now too. He chewed his lip as he waited. A moment later, Ryan poked his head back out.

“You can come in now,” he muttered.

He followed him in, a bit red at the circumstance. Gavin was completely red where he was nestled on Geoff’s lap, whereas the other two didn’t seem to give a fuck. This was clearly Geoff’s office. First of all because there was a large, nice desk as the main feature, but also the walls were lined with art, morbid and intense. One particular portrait drew his attention, but he resolved to look at it later. He sat across the desk from Geoff, in the seat next to Ryan.

“So what do the Hardy Boys want?” Geoff grunted.

“We’re looking for Collins,” Ryan spoke up, removing a photo from his coat, “He acquired an item we’re looking to get back.”

He laid the photo on the table, pushing it towards Geoff. It was the one where cobalt was receiving the briefcase. Geoff glanced down at it.

“You’re after the wrong one,” He grumbled, “Obviously you want blue there. Trev’s just a hired help.”

“Which is why we want to talk to him,” Ryan answered, “He holds no loyalty to the man.”

“No merc worth his salt will give up a client,” Geoff scoffed, “His rep would take a swan dive.”

“Which is why we’re talking to you,” Jeremy finally piped up.

Based on the pleased smirk Ryan shot him, he was correct in his guess. Geoff snorted, drumming his fingers on the desk a moment.

“I owe you two shits a favor,” he grumbled finally, “That’s the only reason I’m doing this. This is not the information highway. Especially not for the former pig, even if he is pretty.”

He pointed an accusatory finger at Jeremy who laughed nervously as he blushed. _How the hell did he find out??_

“Also,” Geoff added, grinning, “Lift your shirt. We want to see your new scars.”

Jeremy went redder and flipped him off.

“In your dreams, perverts,” he grumbled.

Both Gavin and Geoff pouted.

“If you want to keep all your appendages,” Ryan growled, “I suggest you make haste.”

Gavin wobbled off his lap so Geoff could grumble as he made his way from the room. Jeremy used the opportunity to look around at the portrait that caught his eye earlier. It was all golds and reds. A bloody face, with a golden crown. One disfigured hand was reaching out. 

“Are you okay?” Ryan asked Gavin, “Have you even eaten today?”

*

Jeremy found himself standing up, moving towards the painting as Gavin and Ryan talked behind him. The person in the painting was bloody and screaming, the golden crown was melted down the face. The liquid metal completely covered the eyes and dripped into the screaming mouth which drooled blood down the chin. 

Jeremy lifted his hand to extend toward the deformed one. It was reaching, begging for help. Boiled and burned, traces of liquid metal there as well. Jeremy’s fingers hovered centimeters from the paint.

*

_Ryan._ This was one of Ryan’s paintings. One of his self-portraits. Jeremy’s heart ached with the desire to reach for him, reach for the man who had needed help. Reach into the painting, the _past_ and offer him the help he’d needed when no one else was there. He wanted to change the pain he had suffered.

“Mad King,” Ryan murmured next to him suddenly.

Jeremy dropped his hand, going a bit pink at how dumb he must’ve looked. 

“The title?” Jeremy guessed.

Ryan hummed confirmation and Jeremy glanced at him. He wondered what part of his life this was. Wondered what the Mad King had made Ryan. Or perhaps what Ryan made the Mad King. Ryan caught him staring and raised an eyebrow at him.

“What do you think?” He prompted lightly, “It’s a bit morbid for some tastes.”

Jeremy looked back at the painting.

“I like it,” he answered simply.

He paused, tilting his head.

“Or maybe I should say I appreciate it,” he muttered, “It makes me feel something.”

“Oh?” Ryan prompted, “What does it make you feel?”

Jeremy lifted his hand to mirror the painted one again.

“Alone.”

“Jeremy, I-“ Ryan mumbled.

The door opened, interrupting him. Jeremy’s hand dropped and he turned around. 

“Fucking Christ alive,” he grunted, _“You’re_ a thief?! You’re fucking huge, dude! Hasn’t anyone told you being a thief is about subtly??”

“Not everyone can be as subtle as _you,_ Jeremy,” Ryan quipped, ruffling his hair.

Jeremy went red and smacked his hand away.

“Shut up!” He hissed as Ryan laughed, “I will fucking roundhouse your ass.”

“Can you reach all the way up here?” Ryan snorted.

“I got Geoff, didn’t I?” Jeremy grumbled, smacking his arm, “Asshole.”

“Holy shit.”

Jeremy looked back to the thief who was looking at him in awe.

“Wow, Matt was not joking,” he laughed, “I thought he had to be exaggerating, but you’re really something.”

Jeremy squinted suspiciously at him as he approached. 

“You know Matt?” He grunted, “Like Axial Matt?”

“Yeah, we’re friends,” The thief answered, drawing up in front of him, “He texted me nearly nonstop while you were at the con. Though I didn’t expect you to be a midget.”

Jeremy blushed furiously as Ryan snorted.

“I’m not a midget!” He insisted, “It’s not my fault you’re all giant freaks!”

The thief reached out to ruffle his hair playfully and Jeremy snatched his wrist tightly.

“If you so much as _think_ about putting your hand on my head,” He growled, “I will hack enough off your legs to put you down at my level. Understood?”

The thief swallowed and nodded. He released him and gestured for him to go sit, which he did easily. Ryan quickly followed and Jeremy stood behind him.

“Collins,” Ryan began, pulling the photo from the table, “We need information about this man.”

Collins sat forward and took the photo. He frowned.

“Uh, that’s not me,” he grunted, “That’s Al.”

Geoff plucked it from his hands and hissed out a string of curses.

“Al hasn’t checked in for a couple days,” Collins added, “I don’t even know where he is.”

Worry clenched in Jeremy’s guts.

“When’s the last time anyone talked to him?” He pressed.

The worried glances thrown around the room did not bode well for the missing thief. Jeremy had a pretty bad feeling about all this. They talked a few more minutes with the others, learning nothing and when they got in Ryan’s car, Jeremy sighed, rubbing at his face. It seemed like something bad was going to happen. They drove for awhile as Jeremy worried.

“Why do I get to touch your head?” Ryan asked suddenly, “You don’t let others. Why do I get to?”

“You should know why,” Jeremy grunted.

“I...” Ryan mumbled, never finishing the thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @1stworldmutant for all your depressing gay needs.  
> I’m like sick, so these chapters suck ass.


	3. Chapter 3

“It’s hopeless,” Jeremy groaned into his hands, “The thief is dead, the book is gone, and no doubt this cult is going to hurt people.”

He rubbed his hand over his chest, able to feel the mostly healed wounds, even through his shirt. _I can’t just let someone get hurt again._

“It’s not over ‘til it’s over,” Ryan muttered next to him on his couch, “At least we know they’re lunatics. Summoning rituals, curses, voodoo dolls. Full pagan cult bullshit. We just need to find an entry point onto their compound.”

He sounded tired, Jeremy thought. They’d been at it all night, but Mortus Masi was as secretive as Area 51. Or any government compound really. They were locked down, with a whole religious front as their first line of defense and a quite extensive armed defense as their second. No one had intel, no one had been inside, and only a select few went into the public at a semi-regular basis. They didn’t appear to have connections to the public, Blue and the Grimoire incident being the only real, fully confirmed connection which had been severed. They didn’t even recruit via regular means or by any means at all, as far as they could find.

_Okay, sleuth brain, get to work. What do you do if you can’t get into a locked room? You find the key. Or you find the appropriate replacement for it._ Maybe they could ask Gavin for help, but Jeremy wasn’t sure this was the right angle. Even if Gavin got the door open, then what? There was no intel on the inside except that anyone who had gotten in had never come out again. 

“Too bad they cover their asses so well,” Ryan grumbled, “It’d be great if we could just call the pigs as a flashy distraction. Get in the back and slip out while piggies search the front.”

He huffed as he scrolled over the blueprints on the laptop. _He’s so exhausted he’s forgotten I used to be a piggy. What did we used to do when we couldn’t get in somewhere? We knocked on the door and asked to be let in._ He sat up straight suddenly, grabbing the pictures of Blue.

“What is it?” Ryan asked, turning towards him, “What did you figure out?”

“This!” Jeremy exclaimed, shaking the photos, _“This_ is our key. Look!”

He shoved aside some of the papers on the table to spread out the photos. He rearranged them so they were in his best guess for chronological order which was not their previous guess.

“Diaz, our thief, he was let in,” He pointed out, “I don’t think he was kidnapped at all. I think he was recruited. Look, the drop, it happened at a different time than these pictures. I think he gave over the book then-“

“-they just hung out?” Ryan guessed, leaning closer to the photos, “You may be right, Diaz looks a bit tipsy in these others.”

“Diaz got in,” Jeremy mumbled, “Whether he’s a believer or just wanted to score something, I’m not sure, but he was definitely trying to get in. Which means we can too.”

Ryan frowned, looking at him.

“You want to try something undercover?” He grunted, sounding annoyed.

“Really, how else are we going to get inside?” Jeremy answered, “Why are you upset by this?”

Ryan looked away.

“I’m _not,”_ he grumbled, obviously lying, “Whatever. We need to track this guy. If Diaz convinced him, he’s our best bet. I’ll talk Hurt into telling me what PI he used to follow Blue.”

_Talk Hurt into._ Jeremy frowned. He didn’t like Ryan talking to the guy who flirted with him. Jealousy spiked in his guts once again and he tried to swallow it down. _He rejected me, I don’t have the right to get possessive._ Ryan was texting Hurt right then apparently. Jeremy made himself busy shuffling the photos around like he thought he could find anything else in them.

Ryan chuckled at the phone and Jeremy nearly growled out loud. He wanted to grab him by his stupid, pretty long hair and slam his stupid, beautiful face into the coffee table. Wanted to growl in his ear, demanding he tell him who owned his ass. Wanted to spank said ass while he cried about how sorry he was. Wanted to fuck that ass while he begged for it, while he called himself Jeremy’s slut. 

“Jeremy?” Ryan’s voice called, pulling him from his thoughts.

Jeremy essentially tackled him into the couch, shoving him around awkwardly as he mouthed aggressively at his neck. Ryan groaned, hands grabbing at Jeremy’s shirt. Jeremy pulled his hips back enough to grab Ryan’s leg and shove it aside, pinning it to the back of the couch. Then he shoved up between his legs, rolling his hips against Ryan’s. Ryan moaned, holding onto Jeremy’s jacket tightly while he dry humped him. 

Jeremy’s phone started ringing. He fumbled it out of his pocket, not stopping his motions and turned it off, dropping it on the floor. It could’ve broken, but Jeremy was fumbling with his belt and kissing Ryan’s mouth. He had other things to worry about.

_Ding ding!_

Jeremy growled, biting hard on Ryan’s lip. Ryan convulsed under him, gasping. Jeremy’s eyebrows went up as wet warmth flooded Ryan’s crotch. Ryan covered his red face with both hands and Jeremy bit hard on his own lip. _Fuck that’s hot, he came in his fucking pants._

He swallowed, palming his own boner through his jeans. He wondered if he could do it as well. He _wanted_ to. He groaned, dropping his forehead to Ryan’s hands where they covered his face. He kissed his hands and down his wrist before kissing his throat and sucking a mark there. 

“Mine,” he growled against the reddened skin.

He felt delirious, so hot and dizzy and close, so close to finally getting off. Ryan’s hands moved and he threaded them through Jeremy’s hair, holding his head against him. His thighs squeezed around his hips and he hooked his ankles together. _Clinging, he’s clinging,_ Jeremy realized. Jeremy moved his hands, shoving them under Ryan to squeeze him close as he humped against him, against the warm, wet spot. Ryan moaned and Jeremy shouted his name as he came. He collapsed onto him, trying to catch his breath. 

“This counts!” Jeremy shouted, muffled by Ryan’s skin, “F-fuck you, universe, this fucking c-counts!”

Ryan burst into laughter, shaking his head and Jeremy huffed out a breathless laugh. After they caught their breath, they pulled away to embarrassingly try to clean themselves up with red faces. They did their best and Ryan got a message from Hurt, telling him what PI he’d hired to follow Blue. Ryan called the PI and Jeremy was reminded of his own phone. He was relieved to find was still in one piece, though the screen had a small crack now. He got up to change his pants as he checked to see who called him.

_Matt?_ Why had Matt called him? He was on decent terms with the man, but he only ever texted him. _Weird._ He opened his voicemail. 

“J-Jeremy, I need y-your help!” Matt’s voice groaned into his ear, “They t-took him! I d-don’t know who to c-call! King, I d-don’t have his number. T-Trevor’s-! They grabbed Trevor!”

Jeremy went pale and covered his mouth. _Mortus Masi,_ that’s the only “they” he could mean. Jeremy scrambled to get on the clean clothes, calling Matt back.

“J-Jeremy?” Matt greeted weakly.

“Yes, t’s me, Matt,” Jeremy confirmed, doing up his pants, “Where are you? Are you hurt?”

“Yes, I’m g-getting picked up,” Matt rasped, “Grazier’s Cafe. Y-you gotta find Trev.”

“I’m on it,” Jeremy assured him, “You’re sure you’re safe?”

“Y-Yes, I’m good,” Matt insisted, “C-Caleb’s here.”

_Who the fuck is Caleb??_ Jeremy wondered. 

“Okay, buddy, you rest,” He spoke firmly, “I’ll find Collins.”

_Hopefully in one piece._ After hanging up, he rejoined Ryan in the living room in time to hear him saying goodbye to the PI. 

“What is it?” He asked, standing up, “You look pale.”

“Axial called me,” Jeremy muttered, “Collins was kidnapped, I’m guessing by Mortus Masi. We gotta get over now if we want to get on the trail before it’s cold.”

Ryan made a disgruntled noise.

“We need to meet the PI,” he lamented, “He refused to meet us unless we go now. Apparently he thinks scheduled meetings are always setups.”

“Then we have to split up,” Jeremy grumbled, “Alright, I’ll message you if I find anything. Uh, but do you have time to, er, change?”

They both went red at that and didn’t look at each other.

“I carry extra clothes in my car,” Ryan muttered nervously, “Ahem, anyway, I’ll call you when I’m done talking to the PI.”

“Right.”

They gathered their things and headed out. There was a package on the door mat. _That must’ve been what the doorbell ringing was for._ He put it inside the door before closing and locking it. He’d have to worry about that later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry guys, I know these chapters aren’t as good. I’m just super sick, but I want to get them out anyway. I’ll let you guys know when I’m not sick and can revise the chapters. Thanks for being patient and reading anyway! I love you, my darling little stars!! ✨


	4. Chapter 4

Jeremy could tell pretty quickly where Collins had gotten grabbed. An outdoor table was shoved away and the chairs accompanying it were toppled over. There was blood splattered over one of the chairs, most likely from Matt getting shot. Jeremy looked for the bullet and found it embedded in the wall past the chair. It was low, at an angle. Matt must’ve already been on the ground when he was shot.

Jeremy got out a baggie and carefully pried the bullet from the wall. A .38, no big surprise there. Jeremy crouched over the open area where Collins no doubt fought his attackers. There were a few scuff marks on the pavement. Jeremy knelt down closer as he noticed something else: hair. Blonde, not Collins’ hair. He retrieved another baggie to pick it up. Collins must’ve ripped a handful out of his attackers scalp. 

_Good news, we can get DNA...no, no we can’t. I don’t have a lab to send it to._ Jeremy sighed and rubbed a tired hand over his face. He took the hair anyway, with the vague hope he could ask the lab for a favor and stood back up. There were tread marks on the road, indicating the car had peeled out as it left. It all seemed pretty self-explanatory. Matt and Collins were sitting at the table, the cultists showed up, there was a struggle, and Collins was hauled off. 

Why? Why did they need Collins? And why do it in front of a witness? They didn’t even bother to make sure Matt was dead. They were clearly in a bit of a hurry to grab the guy, but again, why? It couldn’t be recruitment, they’d dragged him off. It couldn’t be that he knew anything or they would’ve just killed him. And there was no way in hell it was just a coincidence. He and Diaz were close friends, it had to be on purpose, but _what_ purpose?

He checked around the area for security cameras, but it seemed none of the businesses had any. He sighed heavily and got back in his car. All his had was the bullet and the hair. His best bet was calling up Miles at the lab. Miles was always willing to help him out when he was still a detective, maybe he’d still help him out now? 

He texted Ryan to give him the update. It was nearly midnight. Miles probably wouldn’t be in. He shot him a text anyway, just in case and started back home. There wasn’t a lot he could do now but wait. He was getting pretty worn out and could use a nap anyway.

As he closed and locked his door, he noticed the package sitting next to it. _Right. Package._ Who the fuck sent him a package?? He picked it up and headed to the living room, checking for the return address. There wasn’t one. The only information on the box was his own address. He frowned as he sat and quickly opened it with his pocket knife. 

His insides started to frost over as he revealed what was inside. Two roses, one red, one black. They were dipped in wax to preserve them and tied together with a red string. He didn’t need to read the card to know who it was from, but he read it anyway.

_“Never in all my life will I forget,_

_How beautiful you looked that night._

_Your skin so pale, your eyes so wet,_

_You were a cursed and lovely sight._

_I waited so long to meet my love,_

_To meet my star-crossed fated one._

_You were sent to me from above,_

_And could be second to none._

_Then came the snarling little bitch,_

_Who stood in the way of our death._

_With the lowly mutt, I had to switch,_

_And give to him your final breath._

_But fate is strong, my darling lover,_

_We’ve been given a second chance._

_We can, we will of course, recover,_

_So I ask, would you care to dance?”_

The Ray symbol of the Creator language was drawn under the poem. Jeremy felt like his insides were frozen solid. He swallowed, his dry throat rubbing painfully. _He’s coming back. He’s going to come back. He could already be here._ Jeremy covered his mouth and squeezed his eyes closed.

_Ray._ The name reverberated around his skull again. His spine tingled and his heart pounded. _He **is** here. He’s in Los Santos somewhere._ Jeremy dropped the card back in the box and shoved it off his lap to run to the bathroom. His body convulsed as he vomited into the toilet.

_“Listen baby, ain't no mountain high-“_

“M-Marvin G-hurk!” Jeremy sputtered, interrupting himself with more vomit.

_“Ain't no valley low, ain't no river wide enough baby-“_

He fumbled for his phone in a daze, retching again.

_“If you need me, call me no matter where you are-“_

Jeremy spat as he focused on his phone. “Ryan” was on the screen.

_“No matter how far don't worry baby-“_

Jeremy answered the phone.

“Y-you changed my-!”

He convulsed again, nearly beaming himself on the toilet as he rocked forward. No doubt that splatter cut off any ideas of flirting from Ryan.

“-my r-ringtone,” Jeremy sputtered, groaning, “Wh-What did the-the PI day?”

“Are you okay?” Ryan asked, sounding worried, “Are you sick?”

“No, I-I’m fine,” Jeremy assured him, croaking, “J-just...somethin not s-sittin right. The PI?”

He pulled the phone away from his mouth to spit. _Bleh._

“Blue apparently goes to a bar every Friday,” Ryan answered, “He cycles through a few, I’ll send you the address for the one up next. We can meet there Friday.”

“S-sure,” Jeremy muttered, “Uh, anything else?”

Ryan didn’t speak for a moment and Jeremy worried.

“I’m coming over,” Ryan finally spoke.

“Wh-What? Why?” Jeremy sputtered.

“Because...you’re sick,” Ryan mumbled, “I’ll take care of you.”

“I-I don’t...that’s not...” Jeremy faltered.

Ryan blushing in a sexy nurse outfit floated into his mind and he cleared his throat nervously.

“I’m coming,” Ryan repeated, “...I-if that’s...okay?”

“O-okay,” Jeremy relented, too distracted by Nurse Ryan to focus.

He shook himself out of his daydream to flush his vomit and brush his teeth. He was quickly turning into as much of a horny bastard as Ryan. It was hard not to. The guy was fucking beautiful. Anyone would turn into an animal if they spent as much time with him as Jeremy had. And also made him jizz in his pants. 

_Ding ding!_

Jeremy opened the door and his mouth to say something along the lines of “I’m not sick, I promise”, but was immediately distracted, his eyes dropping. Ryan’s legs were bare from his knees down. _Skirt,_ Jeremy’s mind supplied. _Ryan cross-dresses? Wait. No, that’s a kilt._

“Why are you wearing a kilt?” Jeremy asked, raising his eyes.

“My normal change of clothes were dirty as well,” Ryan grunted, “Had to go with the backup set.”

“You look amazing in it,” Jeremy blurted.

Ryan blushed and Jeremy nearly slammed the door in his face with how quickly it turned him on.

“I-I’m not sick,” he admitted, trying to quickly change the subject.

He stood aside to let Ryan in anyway and closed the door. Ryan followed him to the living room and Jeremy showed him the package. Ryan scowled at the writing on the card while Jeremy definitely _didn’t_ look at where the kilt draped over Ryan’s thighs. He could just flip it upward to get at Ryan’s underwear. He didn’t need to undo a belt or zippers. Just flip upward and yank the underwear down. 

“So Phantom hasn’t given up on you,” Ryan sighed, drawing his attention back to his face.

“Yeah, seems like he really believes that stuff,” Jeremy grumbled, slumping against the couch, “Just my luck, I suppose.”

He covered his eyes with one arm. Damn, he was tired. Ryan shifted next to him and squeezed his knee, surprising him. Jeremy dropped his arm to look at him. Ryan was giving him a concerned look.

“You still have the gun I got for you, right?” He questioned, “I can give you another one if you need it.”

Jeremy tried really hard not to glance down at all the newly exposed skin on Ryan’s thighs, but as a wise man once said, there is no try, only do or do not. And Jeremy definitely _did._

“Holy fucking shit,” He whispered, his hand going for Ryan’s exposed thigh, “Fuck, your thighs look great.”

He squeezed the firm muscle and Ryan jumped in surprise. He pushed up the kilt, groping his thigh as he shoved it up out of his way. _No underwear._ He wasn’t wearing underwear. He grabbed Ryan’s hips and pushed him down on the couch again. Jeremy rubbed up his thighs and dipped down to lick up his cock. It was smaller than he expected, but just as pale and pretty as he imagined. Not that he imagined Ryan’s cock a million times while jerking off. _Ahem._

Ryan’s hands were in his hair as soon as Jeremy closed his mouth around the flushed head of his cock. He moaned, shoving Jeremy’s mouth down, cock rubbing over his tongue urgently. His thighs were shaking next to Jeremy’s ears while he fucked up into his mouth desperately. 

Jeremy’s phone started ringing. It was Burns’ ringtone. He’d changed it specifically so he knew if the call was important. _Damnit._ He fumbled for his phone, muting it without looking. Ryan groaned above him, his body tensing as his thrusts went erratic. 

“F-fuck, J-Jeremy, I-I’m-“

He didn’t finish the warning before his pelvis smashed into Jeremy’s face, cumming down his throat with a long, loud howl of a moan. Jeremy grunted, his jaw cracking at the force of Ryan’s hips. _Damn. Better hold him down next time or he’s going to break my face. Next time. Will there be a next time?_ Jeremy tried not to think about it as he pulled off to grab tissues from the table. 

Ryan moaned softly, completely limp against the couch as Jeremy wiped up spit. Jeremy smiled softly. He looked especially beautiful like that. Completely relaxed, clothes rumpled, face pink. Jeremy’s heart throbbed and he looked away, pushing Ryan’s kilt back in place and straightening his shirt out. He carefully maneuvered him so his legs were over Jeremy’s lap, hoping the position would be more comfortable. He pulled out his phone to call Burns back, a little nervous about having ignored it.

“Dooley!” Burns snapped immediately, “Fucking shit, Dooley! We thought you fucking died!”

“What, why?!” Jeremy demanded, frowning.

“Phantom, he’s back,” Burns answered, “He was seen down on Carson, but he’s slipped us. Do you have somewhere safe you can go? A friend’s place?”

Jeremy went pale and shaky.

“S-some place safe?” He muttered, “I...”

_Don’t have any friends._ He rubbed his hand on Ryan’s thigh, trying to calm himself down. 

“I don’t have any place to go,” he admitted quietly, “Sh-should I get a hotel?”

“That would be for the best,” Burns agreed, “Tell us where you go so we can have someone keep an eye out for you.”

“Okay, he, uh, sent me a package as well,” Jeremy added, “I was going to call you tomorrow. Should I drop it off?”

“Yes, definitely,” Burns answered, “Be safe, Dooley.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jeremy hung up and dropped his head to Ryan’s leg, sighing. Ryan shifted and sat up.

“What is it?” He asked, running his hand through his hair, “What’s wrong?”

“I...”

Jeremy hesitated. Was it better or worse to tell him?

“Phantom’s in town,” he muttered, “Captain Burns has instructed me to find a hotel room, since I don’t have anywhere else safe to stay.”

“You could stay with me,” Ryan offered, “I-if you want. I have plenty of room. A-and security.”

Jeremy looked up at him in surprise. He was blushing again, not looking at Jeremy. 

“You sure?” Jeremy pressed, “I don’t really know how long it will take.”

Ryan nodded, still not looking at him. Jeremy had a feeling he was going to regret it if he did stay with him. What if Ray hurt Ryan while Jeremy was staying with him? What if he killed him? Jeremy sighed. Ryan could probably hold his own, but still, it worried him.

“Okay,” he finally mumbled.

Ryan’s lit up face was enough to stamp out any hesitance Jeremy had felt. He smiled back at him, his heart fluttering in his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recovery is slow going, but it is going, so hopefully I’ll be back in top form soon! ^_^
> 
> @1stworldmutant if you truly love me. ;P


	5. Chapter 5

Jeremy stared up at the house, dumbfounded. When Ryan offered to let him stay over, he’d never expected to be pulling up to a mansion. He’d assumed it’d be a nice house, certainly, but this place was huge. The place only seemed to get better when Ryan pulled into the frankly giant garage.

“Holy shit!” Jeremy gasped, hands going to his mouth.

_Motorcycles._ Dozens of them. Cars too, but Motorcycles were the main feature. Jeremy hopped out of the car nearly before Ryan had turned it off. He went straight for the Gargoyle, immediately reaching for it. He retracted his hands before touching it, realizing how rude that would be. He shoved his hands in his pockets to resist the urge to fondle the bike. 

It was a midnight blue color with brighter blue accents. _So pretty._ Next to it, looking even prettier, was a black Nightblade with blue accents. Jeremy was beginning to see a pattern.

“Blue your favorite color?” He teased, turning to look at Ryan.

“No.”

Ryan gestured for him to follow him into the house as Jeremy frowned at the curt answer. _Weird, but whatever. Maybe it was personal for some reason. Like maybe his dad loved blue and died or something. Could be anything._ Nothing about Ryan’s life was his business. Even if he wanted _everything_ about Ryan to be his business. 

The door to the house lead into the kitchen, where Ryan hung his keys on a hook beside the door. The motion drew Jeremy’s attention and he noted the insane amount of keys on hooks there. No doubt to all the bikes and cars in the garage. There were even more than Jeremy had guessed. He felt a twinge of envy and inadequacy. His one bike was basically garbage and Ryan had several dozen. Of course, Jeremy was pretty sure his money was all ill-gotten. 

“Hey, I gotta go make a call,” Ryan grunted, “You’re free to roam, there’s nothing for me to hide really. Not that you could find anyway.”

He flashed a mischievous grin at Jeremy and then disappeared. Jeremy shuffled further into the kitchen, glancing around. It was big, had nice marble countertops, and was clean. There wasn’t a lot to write home about except that it was four times the size of Jeremy’s own kitchen. 

He wandered out the way Ryan had disappeared and found himself in a hallway. He went to the right, for no particular reason and peeked into the first door he came across. Lots of bookshelves. Armchairs and a fireplace. Library? He continued down the hall, peeking in doors as he went along. When he’d reached the end, he’d seen a dining room, a den, some form of living room, and at the very end was a studio. 

He hesitated a moment, peeking inside. He wasn’t sure if he was allowed in the room, though Ryan had said he could roam. He leaned in a little to see if he could see anything from the door. He wanted to see more of Ryan’s art.

“Jeremy!” Ryan called down the hall.

Jeremy jumped and stepped away from the door as Ryan hurried to join him. He closed the door with a sharp snap and rounded on Jeremy, quickly grabbing his arms and shoving him up against the wall. Jeremy grunted, wincing at the tight grip.

“Did you see anything?!” Ryan demanded.

“Wh-What? No, th-the stuff is pointed away from the door,” Jeremy mumbled, “I thought you said-?”

“That door is supposed to be locked,” Ryan interrupted, “Did you open it?”

“No! It was open!” Jeremy assured him, “Can you please loosen your grip??”

Ryan released him, stepping back.

“S-sorry,” he mumbled, “I get...defensive about my art.”

“I should’ve made sure it was okay,” Jeremy dismissed, “Most people are a little defensive about their work. I thought you said you had no creative talent?”

Ryan laughed, rubbing a hand over his face.

“Maybe that’s why I’m so defensive,” he joked, “They’re all terrible.”

“I find that unlikely,” Jeremy grumbled, “I bet you’re good at everything you do.”

_Fucking bastard._

“Uh, no, that’s very nice of you,” Ryan muttered, “But definitely not.”

He gestured for Jeremy to follow him and as they walked, Jeremy noticed he’d changed out of the kilt. He couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. Ryan led him past the kitchen and around a corner to a foyer with two large staircases. 

“Jesus, is this where I learn you inherited a fortune?” Jeremy grunted as they went up the stairs.

“I inherited the house,” Ryan answered, “Not very much of the money though. I had to run the company for that.”

Jeremy’s eyebrows went up. That was more information than he ever expected to get from him. As he followed Ryan down the hallway, he wondered if Ryan refused to work at a company because he was the Vagabond or because he just didn’t want to. Could be a different reason altogether, really. 

“Jeremy?” Ryan called to him as he stopped in front of a door.

Jeremy looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. He looked hesitant again, nervous. 

“I thought...maybe you could sleep with me,” He mumbled, “In, um, my bed. If that’s...something y-you would like.”

He cleared his throat, not looking at Jeremy. His face was pink and his hands fidgeted in front of him. Jeremy wanted to punch him in the mouth. _You said you couldn’t do this! Why are you torturing me like this?!_

“Okay,” he finally agreed.

Ryan smiled brightly and led him through the bedroom door. Jeremy went for the bed and immediately toppled onto it, exhausted. Ryan grunted and followed him over. He rolled him to the side and started taking off his jeans. Jeremy batted his hands away.

“You’ll wake me up if you take off my pants,” he grumbled.

Ryan laughed as Jeremy dropped his pants off the bed and scooted further up. Ryan touched his cheek gently.

“Are you alright by yourself?” He asked softly.

Jeremy nodded. Ryan leaned down and kissed him lightly. 

“I’ll...I’ll let you in the studio,” he whispered, “Soon...just...not yet.”

“Okay,” Jeremy answered quietly.

Ryan smiled gently at him, eyes filled with fondness and kissed him again before moving away and leaving the room. Jeremy curled in on himself, squeezing his arms over his chest. _You said you couldn’t do this. Don’t get my hopes up, don’t play with me._ Jeremy closed his eyes tightly against the stinging.

~

Jeremy slapped the shot glass upside down on the bar and cheered with the crowd. The guy he was out-drinking couldn’t take another shot and Jeremy held his hand out for his winnings. He winked and laughed, accepting congratulations. He slipped the winnings to the bartender on the low as Blue sidled up to him.

“Well, hello, hansome,” He slurred, “Come to cheer me on? Been doin it with yer eyes all nigh’.”

He winked and Blue was all teeth in his grin. Jeremy licked his lips and grabbed the man by his shirt, dragging him out of the bar into the alleyway. Blue pushed him up against the brick and Jeremy shuddered. _Alright I have his wallet, we’re done here._ He shoved at the guy.

“Urk, I’m gonna hurl!” He groaned, stumbling away.

He gagged, leaning against the alley wall as he doubled over. The guy was apparently not willing to give up that easily though as he groped Jeremy’s ass. _Ah, he’s had a bit too much to drink._

“Dude, do-urg!” Jeremy gagged wetly.

“Mm, it’ll be fine,” Blue giggled, “You’re keepin.”

_Fuck._ Jeremy squeezed his eyes closed and half-swallowed the back of his tongue. His body convulsed as his gag reflex sent his tongue (and all he’d drank) back up and launched out of his mouth. Blue backed off as Jeremy splattered mostly water onto the pavement.  He shuddered as he regained his balance and finished hurling out what little was in his stomach. 

He fumbled in his pocket for candy or gum or something to get the bile out. Mint, great. He popped it in his mouth, crunching it up and leaned against the wall. He wrapped his arms around himself, trying to stop his shivering. Vomiting was the worst. It would only be second to someone a half a foot taller than you emerging from the shadows of an alleyway and advancing on you.

“G-got it,” Jeremy croaked.

Ryan pressed his hand against the wall next to Jeremy’s head. He was so close their clothing brushed lightly. Jeremy was forced to strain to look up at him. Ryan was angry or maybe just annoyed. His free hand gripped Jeremy’s chin, forcing it further back. 

“It always ends up like this,” he snarled, “Because you just fucking _drip_ with it.”

He spread his hand, gripping Jeremy’s face and jerking it to the side.

“Like fucking honey,” he hissed, “Dripping with sex.”

He licked a wide stripe up Jeremy’s neck to his ear, causing him to shudder.

“I bet Gavin’s right,” he groaned.

He suddenly groped Jeremy’s boner. Jeremy let out a choked sort of moaning sound.

“I bet you taste like fucking syrup,” Ryan growled.

Jeremy did not have the time to try to deny that (even if he had been in the right mind to) before his jeans were ripped open and Ryan was on his knees. Jeremy braced his hands against the brick, fighting the urge to look down. _I’ll cum so fucking fast if I see him._

Ryan moaned and fucking _nuzzled_ Jeremy’s cock, rubbing his stubbly cheek against him. Jeremy’s fingers clawed at the brick and his eyes squeezed closed. Ryan held his cock lightly in both hands as he mouthed against him. _Don’t look, don’t look! Fuck fuck fuck!_ Ryan’s tongue swiped up the underside of his shaft and he moaned again. 

Jeremy swallowed thickly and looked down as Ryan mouthed up and down his shaft. He held Jeremy’s cock against his lips and tongue as he moved, drool dripping heavily from his mouth all over Jeremy and himself. Jeremy felt his fingertips and palms scraping against the brick as he watched Ryan worship his cock like it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Meanwhile, _Ryan_ was the most beautiful thing Jeremy had ever seen. _Sloppy, slutty, submissive._

Ryan pulled back to take him fully in his mouth and his lidded eyes looked up at Jeremy’s as his lips parted. Jeremy shivered as they locked eyes and Ryan pushed forward. Jeremy’s cock slid smoothly over Ryan’s tongue and to the back of his throat. Ryan’s eyelashes fluttered and he moaned as he buried his face fully in Jeremy’s pelvis, not stopping until he held all of him in his mouth. Jeremy groaned, his eyes squeezing closed and his head dropping back.

Suddenly he felt a shiver in his spine. His spider sense tingled and he nearly grunted out loud in frustration. Ryan stiffened as he became aware of their visitor as well.

“Well, don’t let me stop you,” Ray’s coldly amused voice called from the shadows, “I’d hate to break up such a good time.”

_I hate you!_ Jeremy thought, fists trembling by his sides. _I’m sorry, ma, I’m sorry, but I can’t help it! How can I not hate him?!_ Tears of frustration filled his tightly closed eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mayle’s writing bingo, mark off “Ryan’s in an alleyway”. XD that should be the free space at this point. 
> 
> @1stworldmutant for ways to help support me! I need all the help I can get. :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: Suicide attempt

Jeremy opened his eyes as he heard Ray walking closer. As he suspected, he had a gun pointed at Ryan who was glaring at him the best he could with Jeremy’s dick in his mouth. _God this is embarrassing,_ Jeremy thought, face burning.

“Very carefully now,” Ray called, “I’m gonna need you to get his dick out of your mouth. No sudden movements, bitch or I _will_ shoot you.”

Ryan shifted back as did Jeremy and Jeremy tucked himself back in his jeans. Ray stopped walking a couple feet from them and turned a soft smile to Jeremy. Jeremy’s blood felt like it was pounding to the rhythm of his heartbeat. 

“Did ya miss me?” Ray greeted cheerfully.

“Shockingly, no,” Jeremy quipped dryly.

“Aw, that hurt my feelings,” Ray pouted, “Don’t you like me?”

Jeremy gave him a dry look.

“You cut me up,” he pointed out, “And tried to kill me.”

“What’s a little slicing between lovers?” Ray laughed, “I’ll let you slice me up if it makes you feel better.”

“Or you could just leave me alone,” Jeremy suggested.

Ray frowned at him, looking legitimately annoyed.

“You know I can’t,” he grumbled, “You are my fate as I am yours, lover. You know what’s written in the stars for us.”

Jeremy let a frustrated noise.

“Fate isn’t real!” He snapped, “Didn’t I already tell you?!”

Ray flicked the safety off on the gun. All the blood drained from Jeremy’s face. He glanced at Ryan who was death glaring pretty hard.

“Don’t look at it!” Ray shouted, “Look at me!”

Jeremy’s eyes snapped back to Ray who was shaking in anger. 

“Stop ignoring our fate!” Ray snarled, “You know we are connected! You know this! You can feel when I’m near you, can’t you?!”

Jeremy swallowed. _How did he know that?_ Jeremy was sweating, heart pounding in his chest as Ray waited for an answer.

“Y-Yes, I can,” he mumbled.

“You knew I was here before the cops!” Ray continued, “You knew I was in town before they told you. Your heart goes all fluttery when I’m around. Every time you hear or think my name, it feels like it’s echoing in your brain. You flush when you think about our kisses, you shiver when you think about me, and you feel my absence when I’m gone. Like a hole inside you, everything feels wrong, off-balance. You’ve been out of it, less quick-thinking, more nervousness, horny as hell. You dream about me, you can feel a tug every time you see me. You love me! It is our fate to be in love!”

“How can I possibly love you?!” Jeremy shrieked, tears burning down his face, “I don’t know you! I don’t know anything about you! Love isn’t about fate, it isn’t about stars! It’s about being there when a person needs you, it’s about taking care of them, it’s about admitting when you’re wrong. It’s about putting your life on the line for them. It’s about being vulnerable, about trusting them, and leaning on each other. Destiny doesn’t exist and love takes work. You think you love me, but you don’t.”

Ray was crying and Jeremy’s heart twisted at the sight. He wanted to hug him, comfort him, hold his hand. 

“Th-this is all I know!” Ray sobbed, “I-I was only t-taught to be this! If you d-don’t love me, I h-have nothing!”

“Ray, that’s-“

Jeremy’s words dried up as Ray pointed the gun at himself. Jeremy felt the tug, felt the world slow, felt Ray drawing him in. He dashed forward, shoving the gun as it fired. Ray stared at him with wide eyes as they fell to the ground. The impact seemed to jar them back to reality, the world snapping back into place around them. Jeremy winced at the pain burning in his left hand, but kept his hold on the gun to stop Ray from using it.

“Jeremy,” Ray whispered.

Jeremy shuddered, goosebumps erupting all over his skin.

“Ray, let go of the gun,” he murmured.

Ray let go, still staring. Jeremy got to his feet and pulled Ray up. He held him by the bicep, guiding him towards the entrance of the alleyway just as the cops watching Jeremy arrived on the scene. 

“Took you long enough,” he grumbled, “Take this. And I need a medic.”

He held the gun out for them and waited until they had it and cuffed Ray before letting go of him. Ray was shaking and still staring at Jeremy.

“J-Jeremy, I...I’m scared,” he mumbled tearfully.

Jeremy put his hands on either side of Ray’s face and bumped their foreheads together.

“It’s okay, it’s going to be okay,” he assured him, “I’m gonna make sure you get the help you need, okay?”

“O-okay,” Ray answered, “I...th-thank you.”

Jeremy smiled sadly and let him go. The officer holding him pulled him to his car and he ducked inside. Jeremy’s heart throbbed as he watched the car leave, barely registering the EMT looking at his hand. Maybe they were fated to be, but Jeremy didn’t care. A hand squeezed his uninjured one and he looked at Ryan who was giving him a sad smile.

“That was pretty good of you,” he commented, “I probably would’ve just shot him.”

Jeremy snorted and shook his head.

“I think you’re more good than you know,” He muttered, dropping his head to lean against Ryan’s shoulder, “You don’t give yourself enough credit.”

“You’re wrong,” Ryan sighed, “I am not good at all.”

Jeremy looked up at Ryan’s eyes, staring into the distance. So many things he’s done. Terrible things. But his remorse was visible, woven on his face like a mask. Ryan was still hiding from the world, from Jeremy and Jeremy felt like crying. _I know nothing about you. I can’t love you either and yet...I think I do._

~

“Hi there, is this Greg?” Jeremy greeted into the phone.

“Who’s asking?” Blue asked, voice gruff.

“My name is Tim,” Jeremy answered, “Last night we were at Flannigan’s. We made out a bit then I threw up. Anyway, you dropped your wallet, so I’m calling to get it back to you.”

“Oh, uh, okay,” The man muttered, “Sure, let’s meet up over at the park on Vintage.”

“Great!”

After hanging up, Jeremy sighed heavily. He was exhausted. He couldn’t sleep next to Ryan after the thought he might be in love with him. So he’d spent all night researching Mortus Masi and drinking Diet Coke because that’s all Ryan had in his fridge. Bastard didn’t even have a coffee pot. At least he felt like he understood the cult a little better. They were a lot like Wiccans, but if Wicca was based on blood curses. 

He didn’t feel like he was getting any closer to solving their problem though. Two people were being held by them, possibly being tortured and the best reason Jeremy could come up with was to use their blood in a sacrifice ritual of some sort. There just wasn’t enough material on their rituals to really figure out their plan. 

“Jeremy?” Ryan’s soft voice pulled him from his thoughts.

Jeremy looked up at him with a tired smile. He was still in his pjs with his hair loose. He looked adorably soft like that.

“Sup?” Jeremy mumbled.

“Have you been up all night?” Ryan asked, frowning at the things strewn over the table, “And did you read every book in my library?”

“Yeah,” Jeremy muttered tiredly, “I mean, I stayed up, not the book thing. Though maybe I should. I still haven’t found shit.”

“Jeremy!” Ryan suddenly shouted, grabbing his shoulder, “Of course you can’t find the information in my library!”

“Wha?” Jeremy helpfully offered.

“Jeremy, the book with the information we need!” Ryan explained excitedly.

“Was the one that got stolen!” They finished together, eyes bright.

Jeremy grabbed Ryan by his waist and yanked him onto his lap, mouths bumping together awkwardly as he hurried to kiss him. Ryan wrapped his arms around his neck, eagerly mouthing back at him. Their soft pjs provided no real covering for how much they were both enjoying making out. Jeremy tugged down Ryan’s waistband to get his hand around him and Ryan groaned against his lips, hips thrusting up into his fist. 

“F-fucking Christ,” Jeremy groaned, “You’re so fucking beautiful.”

Ryan sputtered, going red and Jeremy wanted nothing more than to devour him. He pulled away from his mouth to bite at his neck and shoulder, sucking marks onto his pale skin. Ryan moaned, long and drawn out, tilting his head to give Jeremy plenty of room. 

“You like me markin you up, baby?” Jeremy groaned in his ear, “Like me staking my claim? Making sure everyone knows you’re mine?”

“Y-Yes!” Ryan cried, breathless, “I w-want everyone to see I b-belong to you!”

Jeremy moaned against his skin, picking up the pace as Ryan fucked up into his hand. He was panting and moaning, body twisting beautifully. Jeremy choked on his heart as it leapt into his throat. _So beautiful. Amazing._ Ryan came, gasping Jeremy’s name and slumped against him, struggling to catch his breath. 

Jeremy’s phone started ringing and he grabbed it from the table. The universe was hell bent on him not getting off apparently. It was Miles though, so hopefully for once it’d be good news. Knowing his track record though, Jeremy wasn’t all that optimistic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo @1stworldmutant for a very sad gay.


	7. Chapter 7

_Ring ring!_

Jeremy grunted as his alarm went off. 

_Ring ring!_

“Shut up,” he hissed, burrowing further under the covers, “I’m not here. Go away.”

_Ring ring!_

Jeremy hefted a sigh and wiggled his way out of his covers to grab the phone and turn it off. 

“Asshole,” He grumbled at it.

He slipped from the bed, stretching and yawning. The last few days had been extremely stressful. It was better he’d gotten a few days in his own bed at least, but Ryan’s absence made him feel worse instead of better. He was hoping getting out of his sphere of influence would help Jeremy think more clearly, but it didn’t. 

Instead, Jeremy had spent three days in a hazy cloud, trying to focus on the case. He needed to focus if they were going to get Diaz and Collins out of there. If it wasn’t too late already. Jeremy felt like a fist was squeezing his organs every time he thought about them.

He thought about them as he pulled up to the so called church. Greg, aka Blue, had been very keen on showing him around. Jeremy didn’t even have to ask, he just offered after they’d spoken a bit in the park. Returning the man’s wallet had turned into basically a date and he was making it very clear why he wanted to convert Jeremy. Jeremy wondered if Diaz had been given this same attention. The worry in his stomach only got worse as he walked up the path to meet Greg at the door.

“Hey, Tim!” Greg called cheerfully.

His face was bruised. Badly bruised.

“Geez, you pick a fight with concrete, buddy?” Jeremy asked, gesturing towards the bruised half of his face.

Greg winced and gave him a strained smile.

“Bit of a bar fight,” he muttered, “More of a misunderstanding.”

He pulled open the door, looking eager to move on from the topic. _Oh boy._ Jeremy stepped through the doorway, glancing around the foyer. It was about what you’d expect from a modern church. Beige walls, soft blue carpet, some comfortable looking armchairs. The large, ornate doors to the chapel stood out the most. They had carvings in them, in a language Jeremy didn’t know. 

“It says “Mortus Masi Hasem Dio Predis”,” Greg spoke up, “Death of Masi Brings Us Home.”

Masi was their goddess. 

“Masi?” Jeremy prompted anyway.

“Our goddess,” Greg answered, “Masi, the mother of the earth. Come in the chapel, I’ll show you the tapestries.”

They passed through the doorway and Greg gestured to the wall where several beautiful, richly colored tapestries hung. The first was Masi, the triple goddess that Jeremy had compared to the Wiccan Moon goddess while reading of her.

“The first face is the wind,” Greg explained, gesturing, “The second the earth, and the third the water. The wind brings forth life, then it is seeded in the earth, and the water makes it grow.”

The faces showed different expressions. The wind was sad, lonely. The earth was bright, hopeful. The water was peaceful, happy. 

“Masi brought us to be,” Greg murmured, “To cure her loneliness and created the earth for us to live on.”

“Why is she bleeding?” Jeremy asked, pointing at the crimson drops.

“That’s how she created us,” Greg confirmed what he already knew, “She gave her blood to bring us to life. It’s why the older Mortus Masi sacrificed their blood in most of their rituals.”

They moved to the second, to Faw, the father sun god.

“This is our father, Faw,” Greg explained, “The sun and the fire. He is the one that leads us to death. He purifies our lives with fire, sending us back to Masi’s womb.”

This was one of the weirder parts of the “religion”. Faw was both a villain and a father. He was the devil to Mortus Masi, but also the one who brought them warmth and joy. They sacrificed blood to him and even flesh in some cases, according to what little Jeremy could find on it. The element of fire seemed most related to death and destruction, yet they believed he favored them with good harvests, strong health, and plentiful wealth. An odd belief, Jeremy thought, but he supposed many people had both good and bad in them.

His eyes were drawn to Faw’s head where an elaborate bone crown sat atop it. Fire danced about the bones, around the throne he sat on, and between his long fingers. But his eyes...were blue. Why were they blue? They pierced through Jeremy, slicing into his soul, dissecting him. He shuddered, turning away to the next tapestry. He frowned. He hadn’t read anything about this one.

“Yi and Ga,” Greg spoke, sounding reverent, “The twin sons of Masi and Faw. The only to inherit their godly powers. They’re often called Yiga, as they are never separate.”

The tapestry was the newest of the three, Jeremy realized. The previous two were more worn and discolored. This one was still immaculate. It was also the one that worried him the most. 

There were two figures woven in black and gray, curled around each other in a yin-yang sort of shape. Red as splayed out, originating from them, as though they had bled onto the surrounding cloth. It was so accurate to blood spreading on cloth that Jeremy felt his heartbeat quicken. _Is that...actual blood?_ He reached out before he could stop himself.

As the tip of his middle finger touched the stain, he wobbled, suddenly dizzy. An image of blood dripping onto the tapestry flashed in his mind and a searing pain in his injured hand made him retract it immediately. _Fucking gunshot. Damnit, Ray._ His heart throbbed. _At least he’s okay._ He wiggled his fingers, wincing. It was better to be in pain than to have Ray shoot himself. 

“Tim? You okay?” Greg called to him, shaking him from his thoughts.

“Yeah, yeah,” Jeremy assured him, “I just...didn’t expect to feel so...I dunno, so sure you’re telling me truth.”

Greg grinned widely, delighted that Jeremy was being converted. Jeremy needed to leave soon. He hurried the rest of the tour and quickly got away from the church. He was starting to feel sick. That was real blood on the tapestry. A tapestry depicting twins. Ryan and Geoff had both mistaken Diaz for Collins. Mortus Masi was clearly intent on using them as sacrifices or reincarnations of Yiga or something. 

And Jeremy was thinking about Ray again. Two entities that were considered one. _Two of one._ His heart pounded in his chest as he thought about that night. _Two of one._ Ray had been right about all of those things he’d said. He was right, Jeremy could feel his absence like a hole. He woke up screaming as he watched Ray die in his dreams. His heart pounded in his chest any time he thought about him. They were connected, he could feel it. They were tied together. 

Jeremy was jogging up the steps of the Haywood PI office before he realized where he was going. He wanted to see Ryan. Wanted a different red thread to pull on. He wanted Ryan to kiss away all the weird feelings he had about Ray. He nearly kicked the door in and immediately wished he hadn’t opened it.

“Ry! Unh, Ry!” Gavin’s voice moaned.

Jeremy stared frozen at the two in front of him. Ryan’s face was twisted up, looking like he was in pain while he rutted into Gavin who was holding onto him around the neck. He was half laid over Ryan’s desk, the thing shaking with every thrust. Ryan’s hands weren’t on Gavin, but instead braced on the desk, one clenched tightly around a piece of paper. 

Ryan froze suddenly, much to Gavin’s dismay. He whined as Ryan’s eyes opened and his head tilted up to look at Jeremy. Jeremy was speechless. He was mad, depressed, hurt. But he didn’t have any right to feel these ways. Ryan’s face was filled with regret.

“J-Jeremy, I...it’s not-I didn’t,” Ryan sputtered.

Gavin’s head tipped back to look at Jeremy who was still frozen at the door. He flashed him a grin.

“Hiya, _Barry!”_ He called out, “You know, I have-“

_“Gavin!”_ Ryan hissed, “Don’t!”

“What, why?” Gavin whined, “It’s not fair to keep him for yourself!”

Ryan’s face was red.

“Th-that’s not why!” He snapped, “Will you get your vice grip off me?!”

“No! Then you’ll leave me unfinished again!” Gavin grumbled.

Jeremy’s brain finally caught up and he turned on his heel, about facing to get the hell out of there. 

“J-Jeremy, wait!” Ryan called, “Gavin, let go!”

“No! Forget about him!” Gavin snarled.

Jeremy slammed the door shut and got to his car. He forced himself to hold it together until he got home and immediately got in the shower, curling up in a tight ball and crying until the water ran cold. 

He didn’t bother to read the texts or listen to the voicemails. He just sent Ryan the new information he’d learned about Mortus Masi and crawled into bed. He was very tired and frustrated. He still didn’t know where Diaz and Collins were. Miles had nothing on the hair at the scene. His guts felt all mixed up about Ray. And Ryan was banging Gavin. Everything sucked. 

Really, it wasn’t like Ryan was cheating on him. If anything, banging Jeremy would be cheating. Gavin was there first. But Jeremy felt betrayed, lied to... _stupid_. He felt so stupid for letting the fate bullshit get into his head and make him view the thing they had as something it wasn’t. Ryan had been clear on the matter. Had been _perfectly_ fucking clear. Jeremy had no right to complain, but it didn’t stop the hurt inside him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoooo boy! What a doozy. :D
> 
> @1stworldmutant if you want my eternal gratitude. ^_^


	8. Chapter 8

_Ding ding!_

“Open!” Jeremy shouted, not looking up.

He marked through the apartment building on Penn Ave. with the blue marker. His chest squeezed. _It’s Ryan._ He resisted the urge to sigh heavily.

“Hey, great timing,” he grunted, “I’ve just about finished my map marking.”

Ryan sat down next to him, looking over his shoulder as he marked the warehouse on Fresco in red. He sighed, dropping the sharpies and rubbing his hands over his face. 

“Did you get the copy of the grimoire?” He muttered, “It’d be great to get any amount of information right now.”

He turned to Ryan who produced a folder, filled with loose paper. Jeremy brightened significantly, reaching for it eagerly. Ryan jerked it out of his reach. Jeremy scowled at him.

“Jeremy, we need to talk,” Ryan insisted firmly, “We’re not children. Going 37 hours without talking about it is childish.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Jeremy grumbled, “I’m sorry for interrupting. I was just surprised.”

“Jeremy, you’re not the one who should apologize,” Ryan muttered, sighing.

He looked away, dropping the folder to his lap, thumbing the edge of it.

“Ryan, it’s really okay,” Jeremy assured him, “I should’ve knocked. What you do in your office is your business. Though maybe lock the door. What if it’d been Mrs. Perkins? Poor lady would’ve had a heart attack.”

Ryan frowned at him.

“Who the hell is Mrs. Perkins??” He questioned, confused.

“The lady who lives downstairs,” Jeremy answered, “She’s 89, you know! What if she opened your door and-?”

“There’s a woman who lives downstairs?” Ryan pressed, “I thought they were all offices?”

Jeremy gave him a flat look.

“You really are Sherlock, aren’t you?” He muttered dryly, “If it doesn’t effect you, who cares? If it does, better be minimal.”

He rolled his eyes and reached for the file again. Ryan slammed his palms flat against it.

“That’s not true!” He argued, “I care about things that don’t effect me!”

Jeremy’s hand shot out and gripped his face tightly.

“No, you don’t,” He growled, “If you did, you’d reconsider how you behave. You’re like a spoiled fucking _child,_ Haywood. You want all your toys without having to take care of them. Well, I’ve got news, baby.”

He leaned towards him, twisting his face aside and grabbed the file.

“I am _not_ a fucking toy,” he snarled as he jerked the file from his grasp.

He let go and flipped open the file. He sighed, rubbing his temples.

“Of course,” he grunted, “It’s in the Masian script. Greg taught me a bit, but this is gonna end up being context clues more than anything.”

He flipped through the pages, looking for Yagi in any of them.

“Is this the whole thing?” He questioned, brow furrowing, “This looks incomplete.”

“He said it was all of it,” Ryan mumbled, “But I guess it wouldn’t shock me if he was lying.”

“Yep, lying,” Jeremy confirmed.

He held up two pages which were clearly missing a page between them. Ryan cursed under his breath.

“Any idea what he left out?” He prompted.

Jeremy hummed thoughtfully as he scanned the pages for words he knew. 

“I think...he’s left out any mention of Yiga,” he muttered, “Look at the end of this it says “Blood of Masi of Faw, rises...” something “brings death” and then something “harken the children” and it ends on this page. But the next one is missing.”

He flipped to the next page, frowning.

“The twins are what we need to know about!” he shouted, “This has gotten us nowhere!”

He flung the file away from him and slumped forward, burying his head in his hands. _Useless! Useless! Useless!_ Nothing was right, everything was wrong. As soon as he’d put his train back on the rails, it’d swerved off again. 

“Jeremy?” Ryan called softly, “It’s okay, we’ll figure something out.”

Jeremy shook with rage.

“You don’t get it,” he ground out through his teeth, “You don’t understand! You don’t give a fuck about anyone but yourself! I actually happen to give a shit about people! I can’t just relax! I have to do something!”

Jeremy slumped further forward, head hanging between his knees.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, “I didn’t mean that. I’m just so...”

“Frustrated?” Ryan suggested.

“Yeah, understatement,” Jeremy huffed, sitting up again, “It’s like nothing fits right. Like I’m missing the key to this cryptogram. But every time I think I’ve learned the key, it just turns out to be another piece of the shit I don’t get and need the key for! Why was last time so easy?”

“You thought that was easy?” Ryan snorted, “Last case was a pain in the ass.”

“That’s just because of-“ Jeremy halted, sitting up straight suddenly.

“You figured out the the key?” Ryan guessed eagerly.

Jeremy fumbled for his phone, calling Burns. He bit his thumb anxiously as he waited. 

“This is Burns,” the man grunted, “Dooley?”

“Yeah, boss, listen,” Jeremy rushed out urgently, “Did you catch Phantom?”

“What? Why would you-?”

“Just answer, sir, please!” Jeremy interrupted quickly.

“No? I would’ve called you,” Burns pointed out, “What’s the problem? Did you get any more messages?”

“No, I didn’t, uh...” Jeremy tapped his fingers on his knee, “I’ll talk to you about it later, Cap.”

He hung up and quickly went around his coffee table to scoop up the copied pages. Ryan followed, helping gather them up. Jeremy laid them out on the table before running to his dining room table to grab the book about the Creator people that had found such use in their last case. He flipped it open to their creation myth and pulled out one of the pages of the grimoire, laying it next to the book. Ryan gasped, leaning forward. 

Other than the language, the pages were identical. Jeremy pulled the next page, again showing identical pages. While the exact contents of the books weren’t the same, many details lined up, many things could clearly be seen as parallels. 

“And Yiga,” Ryan pointed out, “Yiga matches to the star-crossed lovers. The missing pages of the grimoire are parallel to the pages on the lovers.”

“But did he hide them because of that?” Jeremy wondered, “Or was he trying to hide what Mortus Masi was up to?”

Ryan grunted, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

“And just how linked is Mortus Masi to Phantom’s cult?” He added, “If they’re one and the same, how could they believe the two of one to be different?”

“Different sects maybe?” Jeremy suggested, “Perhaps two branches of an original common religion?”

“It’s possible,” Ryan agreed, “It would certainly explain why their spell books are identical. What does all this have to do with Phantom?”

“I think they may have taken him,” Jeremy explained, “Burns didn’t know he had been caught, so I’m guessing the cult impersonated officers to take him. Whether he was willing or not, I have no idea. He could’ve been acting...but I don’t _think_ he was.”

“That’s three people now,” Ryan grumbled, “They’re after a whole family, apparently.”

Jeremy went pale and turned to look at Ryan who was frowning at the grimoire. The source of fire and pain, a dark king with icy blue eyes. _They want him too._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mayle’s writing bingo, mark off “they don’t talk about it properly”. My dumb, gay bbus. ^_^’
> 
> @1stworldmutant if you wanna connect with me.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to my bf who told me to work harder on getting people to pay me for writing. Then when I said I was trying, answered with “More dicks! Obviously they want more dicks!”

Ryan noticed Jeremy staring and raised his eyebrow at him.

“You look like you figured something out,” he muttered, “But you’re not happy about it.”

“I think you’re next,” Jeremy whispered, “I think they want you next.”

Ryan’s brow furrowed.

“What, why me?” He demanded.

Jeremy got his phone out to show him the picture of the Faw tapestry.

“Oh, that’s...” Ryan murmured under his breath, “That does look like me.”

He shook his head and rubbed his palms against his temples. 

“You think this is some sort of reincarnation thing?” He suggested, “They found Yiga and might be after me. But what about Phantom?”

“He doesn’t resemble Masi,” Jeremy muttered, “And I'm only aware of the three figures.”

“Maybe he has some other-“ Ryan started.

He halted and slowly turned his head to look back at Jeremy. Now _he_ looked pale, worried, and Jeremy thought maybe a bit afraid.

“How did you know?” He whispered, “How did you connect that to me?”

Jeremy swallowed thickly.

“Uh, the eyes are really-“

“Don’t lie to me!” Ryan shouted at him, “Tell me the truth!”

Jeremy shifted, rubbing his arm nervously. 

“The paintings,” He muttered, “I know they’re yours.”

“How long?” Ryan demanded, “How long have you known?”

“Since the beginning, I guess,” Jeremy mumbled, “When you showed up in the gallery lobby, you reacted to the painting and I sort of put two and two together.”

“You know...how long did you know I was the Vagabond?” He pressed.

“Since the convention,” Jeremy admitted, “Honestly it’s disappointing it took me so long to figure it out.”

There was silence a moment and Jeremy tapped his fingers nervously.

“You knew this whole time,” Ryan breathed, tearfully, “And you still... you still wanted to be around me?”

Jeremy turned to look at him properly. He was searching Jeremy, his eyes filled with tears and confusion, but maybe the tiniest inkling of hope.

“The Vagabond is someone you used to be,” he explained, “Someone I can tell you regret being. You want to repent for what you did. And you’re a good guy under all of that. Even if you are a bit of a spoiled brat.”

Ryan puffed out a short laugh and rubbed his tears away.

“I’m an idiot,” he mumbled, “Of course you don’t care. You’re such an amazing person. You’re too kind and forgiving.”

“Of course I care,” Jeremy protested, “Vagabond did a lot of fucked up shit! But I can tell you’re working to let Ryan come back to you, trying to shed the Vagabond. The Mad King as well, but I get the feeling that one’s a bit different.”

Ryan puffed out another short laugh and dropped his head in his hands.

“I don’t deserve you,” he whispered, “You’re too good, too amazing, and too beautiful. You fucking terrify me, Jeremy.”

Jeremy frowned as Ryan looked back up at him.

“I scare you?” He pressed, confused.

“I...am afraid,” Ryan spoke slowly, carefully, “Of trusting you. I’m afraid that if I put myself in your hands, you’ll crush me. I’m afraid to let myself be vulnerable by letting you in.” 

He reached out and squeezed Jeremy’s hand.

“I...Gavin can be quite persuasive,” he muttered, “And I’ve been...so worried about this that I was willing to seek comfort elsewhere.”

He brought Jeremy’s hand to his lips and kissed his knuckles.

“I’m sorry,” he continued, dropping his forehead to Jeremy’s hand, “I was wrong. I should’ve just told you how I felt. I’m an emotionally stunted baby.”

“That’s true,” Jeremy agreed.

Ryan lifted his head to give him an exasperated look. Jeremy laughed and twisted his hand to hold Ryan’s face. Ryan leaned into his palm, one hand holding his wrist lightly while the other pressed over his hand as though trying to get him to stay. 

“I’m a jealous bastard,” Jeremy grumbled, “We do this, it’s just us. We can be purely sexual if that’s what you want, but still it can only be me. You can only belong to me.”

Ryan flushed pink and nodded.

“Say it,” Jeremy ordered, “Say who you belong to. But make sure you realize that you’re committing to this, to me. You have to trust me.”

Ryan squeezed his hands on Jeremy’s, eyes filled with trust and affection. 

“I-I belong t-to you,” Ryan stammered, “O-only you.”

“Good boy,” Jeremy praised, leaning forward and kissing his lips lightly, “Don’t you owe me an apology, little boy?”

Ryan went fully red and nodded, nearly knocking his head against Jeremy’s with how close they were. Jeremy undid his belt one-handed and Ryan’s breathing hitched. His eyes flicked down to watch the motion and his tongue swiped over his lips. Jeremy smashed his mouth against Ryan’s, hand moving to hold the back of his head, shoving his tongue deep in his mouth. Ryan groaned into the kiss, chasing it as Jeremy pulled away. Jeremy smirked and shoved his head down into his lap. 

Jeremy moaned and shuddered, relaxing against the couch. Ryan’s wet, warm mouth moved up and down on him smoothly, tongue swiping all around him. Jeremy kept his hand on the back of his head, not pushing, but keeping him there. His phone started ringing.

“I swear to Christ,” Jeremy grunted, “I’m gonna break my phone.”

He fumbled it from his pocket and saw it was Miles again. He frowned.

“Stay,” He ordered at Ryan before answering, “Luna, the fuck do you want?”

“Grouchy!” Miles protested, “I finally got a match for your suspect.”

Jeremy sat up straight.

“I could kiss you!” He laughed, “Give me the name. Do they have a record?”

“Uh...yes and no,” Miles answered hesitantly, “The hair matches the Phantom.”

Jeremy scowled. Ryan sucked and he jolted with a hiss.

“H-he’s not blonde,” Jeremy grunted, trying to focus.

“It was dyed,” Miles explained, “Bleached actually, I think.”

Jeremy tried to remember if Ray’s hair had looked different. He’d been wearing a beanie. He had longer hair before, but Jeremy couldn’t remember seeing a ponytail. _So...he was acting. All of that...that had been an act._

“Jer?” Miles called, “You there?”

“Y-yeah, sorry,” Jeremy mumbled, pushing Ryan off his lap, “Thanks for the info. I owe you one.”

He hung up and tucked himself away. He dropped his head into his hands. He’d been so sure it wasn’t an act. 

_Jeremy, I’m scared._

Jeremy stood up abruptly and kicked over his coffee table, sending everything flying.

“J-Jeremy?” Ryan called softly.

“It’s probably best if you leave,” Jeremy gritted out between clenched teeth, “I need to destroy something.”

Ryan tugged him back around to face him and pulled his cock back out. He tugged his hair tie out and put Jeremy’s hands on his head. He wrapped his hand around his cock to guide him back in his mouth. Jeremy was shaking with the effort to contain himself. Ryan squeezed his hands briefly then gripped his jeans.

Jeremy couldn’t stop himself. He wanted to. He wanted to make himself recognize how unhealthy it was, how bad he could hurt Ryan this way. But he didn’t. He gripped Ryan’s head tightly and slammed his face like he was _trying_ to break his jaw. Ryan moaned, gripping Jeremy’s jeans with shaking hands. 

“Fucking masochist,” Jeremy hissed, “Bet you thought y-you were a sadist, thought you liked dominating p-people. But l-look at you on your knees fucking begging me to f-fuck your face. God, you’re a fucking _slut.”_

Ryan groaned, looking up at Jeremy through wet lashes. Adoration oozed from his eyes as much as his tears. Jeremy grunted, pushing him fully down on his cock as he came down his throat. He quickly let him go, pushing back to make sure he hadn’t suffocated him. Ryan grinned at him, through the tears, the drool, and the little bit of jizz that made it through. He leaned into Jeremy’s hand as he put it to his cheek.

“Jesus, you awake in there?” Jeremy muttered, tucking his hair behind his ears, “Ryan, you here with me?”

Ryan nodded and tugged on Jeremy’s shirt.

“What is it, baby?” Jeremy asked, grabbing tissues to clean his face up.

“J-Jeremy,” Ryan whined, tugging more urgently.

Jeremy smirked as he realized what he wanted. He pressed a light kiss against his mouth as he guided him back, pushing him against the couch. Jeremy propped one knee between Ryan’s and opened his pants. Ryan moaned as Jeremy’s hand closed around him and he gripped Jeremy’s shirt tightly. Jeremy kissed across his jaw and nosed at his ear.

“What do you say when you want something, baby?” He whispered.

“P-please!” Ryan cried, hips jerking up, “Pl-please!”

“Good boy,” Jeremy cooed as his hand started to move, “I’m gonna take really good care of you, Ryan.”

“Pr-promise?” Ryan whimpered.

“I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this seems like a totally normal, healthy relationship. :D
> 
> @1stworldmutant to show me your cats so I feel better.


	10. Chapter 10

Jeremy sighed heavily, dropping his head between his knees in despair.

“Okay, how do we phone a friend?” He grumbled, “We need someone who knows something.”

“We need a Creator expert,” Ryan agreed, sounding bitter, “Creators are not my specialty.”

Jeremy lifted up.

“What _is_ your specialty?” He questioned, “Not to be rude, but we’ve been learning everything together.”

Ryan sighed heavily. 

“The ones related to the symbols on my chest,” he muttered, “Wicca, Christianity, Satanism, witchcraft, alchemy, astrology. The occult. The Creators are local. All my expertise is to do with more generalized practices. I’m just as useless as anyone else on this case.”

Jeremy squinted at him, frowning. Was he being serious?

“Dude, you’re an amazing PI,” He grunted, “Don’t talk shit about yourself.”

Ryan flashed him a cheeky grin.

“I am pretty great,” he laughed.

He turned serious again with a sigh.

“I know someone who can help,” he admitted, sounding tired, “She’s an expert in the Creator culture.”

“And you waited to mention this why?” Jeremy prompted.

Ryan fidgeted a moment.

“She’s, uh, she’s a criminal,” he finally muttered, “An expert grifter, forger, and acrobat. But she doesn’t speak to anyone without being paid to do so.”

“And the price is not one you’re keen on paying,” Jeremy guessed.

“She...she’s like Gavin,” Ryan said in answer, “She likes to have sex as her payment. In fact she prefers it... especially with me.”

“Okay, what else can we offer?” Jeremy questioned, “Surely she’d take something else.”

“Not if she knows it’s me,” Ryan dismissed, “Nor if she meets you. She’ll be all over you.”

“Alright, let’s do it then,” Jeremy suggested, “If that’s what it takes.”

Ryan looked at him sharply.

“I don’t _want_ to,” He growled.

“So you’ll fuck Gavin for no reason,” Jeremy commented tightly, “But you won’t fuck her for information?”

“That’s not-!” Ryan started sharply before he looked away, sighing, “She brings out the bad in me. I don’t want to be what she wants me to be. Not any more.”

Jeremy felt instantly guilty for pressuring him. He reached out and squeezed his hand.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, “This case is fucking me up. Obviously you don’t have to have sex with anyone you don’t want to...if she won’t take anything else, I’ll do it.”

Ryan sighed again.

“I’ll see if she’ll take anything else,” he grumbled, “But it’s unlikely. She’s a bit of a sex addict. And scary.”

“Scary to you?” Jeremy laughed, “I guess she’s probably a cute little bunny then.”

Ryan tossed him a dry look. 

~

“Vi-Vi!” A chipper voice called.

The woman attached to the voice flung herself into Ryan’s arms. He hugged her with a fond smile and she kissed his cheek before hopping back down.

“I missed you!” She huffed, punching his arm, “All this time and-“

She halted, sniffing the air and suddenly turning to Jeremy who shrank a bit from her intense gaze. Her eyes behind her glasses, were like honey, her lips like bubblegum, and her hair was like a shiny apple. He couldn’t help the way his eyes dropped, following her soft curves. He found his mouth watering as he watched her move towards him. 

“Hello there, beautiful,” she purred at him, stopping in front of him, “I’m Meg. Gavin told me _all_ about you.”

“I-I can’t say the same,” Jeremy answered, clearing his throat, “Unfortunately.”

She giggled as she put her arms over his shoulders.

“Mm, you’re so cute,” she cooed, “V said you’re my payment. I was doubtful, but I think you smell delicious.”

Before he could ask what the fuck that meant, she smashed her mouth over his. He grunted, hands going to her waist. She licked like she was trying to taste every corner of his mouth and he choked with how far she shoved her tongue. 

He attempted to reciprocate as best as he could, but her mouth was too aggressive for him to get anywhere. He basically ended up just letting her tongue fuck his throat while he waited for her to tell him what she wanted. She pulled off with an obscene sort of smacking sound and licked her lips.

“Mm, Gavin was right,” she laughed, “You _do_ taste good.”

“Th-Thank you?” Jeremy sputtered.

She grinned and pulled away from him, gesturing for them to follow her.

“Well, now, what is it about the Creators you want to know?” She asked as she led them to a library.

She turned back around and gestured around her.

“I got a lot of info on the Creators,” she added, “So I’ll need you to be specific.”

“We need to know about their connection to Mortus Masi,” Jeremy answered.

She brightened up, clapping her hands.

“Sit, sit! I’ll grab the book!” She directed, gesturing towards a couch.

They sat and as soon as she was out of sight, Ryan seized Jeremy’s face and shoved his tongue into his mouth. It felt like he was chasing her taste on Jeremy who frowned at the thought. He tugged off of him with a scowl.

“If you-“ he started.

“She never takes only a kiss!” Ryan interrupted in a hiss, “You really are just oozing sex appeal, aren’t you?”

He gripped his face tighter and shoved his tongue back in Jeremy’s mouth.

“I hated it,” he growled between assaulting his mouth, “She’s my friend and I wanted to destroy her for touching you.”

Jeremy blushed deeply as Ryan pulled away and Meg rejoined them. Her chocolatey brown eyes twinkled as she grinned at the two of them, knowing damn well what they’d just been doing. Jeremy cleared his throat and sat forward, ignoring how hot his face was.

“So!” Meg began, flipping open the book and propping it up for them to see, “Masi is the mother goddess. She’s associated with wind, earth, and water. They believed Masi split into three forms and was the sole deity.”

The book was open to an illustration of the goddess’ three forms.

“Each were linked, naturally,” she continued, pointing at a golden line that connected through the heads of the three forms, “They could split physically, but mentally were as one. The Creators believed to be born of her blood.”

She pointed out blood dripping from the hands of the three forms. Then she flipped through the book to a marked page. This one had Faw and Yiga on opposite sides. Jeremy could see clearly now that Yiga was meant to be the two halves of the moon.

“Mortus Masi,” she began, “Originally named the Children of Faw or Yiga Faw, were a sect of the original Creator belief, that believed in the existence of Faw, the father sun and Yiga, the twin moon deities. At first it seemed mostly benign, a harmless belief, but then they started creating blood curses and doing rituals far more brutal than even the Creators’ most brutal. Your ritual pales in comparison to some of theirs.”

That fist around Jeremy’s guts squeezed. _Ray, is he really with them? If he’s not...he could be in trouble._ Jeremy rubbed his chest over his shirt where the scars now sat. _Ray, are you in trouble?_

“But in the end, a lot of their stuff still traces back to the Creators’ original beliefs,” Meg interrupted his thoughts, “Though they believe Masi must be killed in order for the world to live up to his desires.”

“His, you mean Faw’s?” Ryan spoke up, “They...told of some plan?”

“Don’t all religions have a form of fate? Of god’s plan?” Meg countered, “Though Mortus Masi believes there are vessels for the gods to use before unleashing their full godly might.”

She flipped some more pages to an illustration of several people lined up in robes. She tapped the first with a wavy sort of symbol above the silvery crown on its head.

“Amasi,” she spoke, “The wind form of Masi, a broken, lonely soul.”

She tapped the next. This had a symbol resembling a mountain above a crown of twigs.

“Gemasi, the earth form of Masi, an empathetic, protective soul.”

She tapped a third. This had a symbol of a drop of water above a jeweled crown.

“Hymasi, the water form of Masi, a generous, happy soul.”

She tapped the fourth, one significantly taller than the first three. The symbol above its golden crown was fire.

“Faw, the father sun. A soul born of fire and pain, turned to creator of it.”

Jeremy felt like throwing up. She pointed to the last two, each without crowns, but instead one half of a pearl head piece. Their symbols were the half moons.

“Then the last two Yi and Ga, two mischievous, connected souls.”

Jeremy rubbed at his temples. So they thought there were living, human vessels for the deities. Now the question was, did they think Ray was one of those souls? _Lonely and broken..._ Jeremy’s heart throbbed. That could mean Ray. They could be tricking him into believing he wasn’t going to die. Maybe they were offering him something or were forcing him to help? Jeremy suppressed a sigh. _That’s a bit optimistic, isn’t it?_

“What happens when they get all the vessels?” Ryan piped up.

“The vessel of Gemasi and Faw fuck,” Meg answered bluntly, “Then they are drained of their blood and a gateway opens to allow the deities to occupy their vessels. But they have to be the ones chosen by Faw, apparently. Usually a mystic of some sort will perform a ritual to see who they need for each vessel. Unless of course there’s a Weaver.”

Jeremy squinted at her.

“Weaver?” He prompted.

She flipped back a few pages. These pages had a naked figure covered in blood. They were tied to dozens, maybe even a hundred or more, thin red strings. Some wove through their fingers as though they were inspecting them. 

“The Weaver is said to be one of the most powerful beings of mortal flesh,” Meg explained, “They can feel or even actually see connections in fate and are strong empaths. If they had the Weaver, they could find the vessels pretty quickly.”

Jeremy frowned. Was that why they had Ray? He was one of the few who nabbed Collins, maybe that was his supposed powers at work, sniffing out the second twin. Though he was probably just picking likely candidates. The likelihood that Ray was actually a supernatural being seemed pretty fucking low.

“Anyway, that’s basically it,” Meg finished, shrugging, “Mortus Masi isn’t very well known, but they do still have a following apparently. I have a forged copy of their main grimoire, if you’d like to take a look.”

“Meg!” Ryan suddenly shouted, “Look at these copies for me, will you?”

He pulled out the folder of the copies Hurt gave him and passed them over. She scowled down at them.

“Where are the missing pages?” She grunted, “I know I put them all in!”

Jeremy sat up straight.

“You’re sure it’s one of yours?” He and Ryan spoke together.

She pulled free one particular page and pointed out a tiny mistake.

“Old books have to be a bit messy,” she muttered, “And they can’t be totally identical, otherwise no one would believe it was a legitimate copy. I always remember when I make purposeful mistakes so I know for sure it’s mine.”

She pulled back the paper, still frowning.

“I just did this one,” she grumbled, “I told him not to make copies or move it around too much. Idiot.”

Ryan and Jeremy glanced at each other. A pattern of Jeremy’s cases seemed to be arising and he wasn’t too happy about it. He’d been duped by a client twice now. _How embarrassing._

So Ray was probably in on it and Hurt as well. They’d already kidnapped at least two of the vessels they needed. And they were going to come for Ryan next. It was the same trap Phantom and Co. laid for him in the last installment, except Hurt and Co. were after Ryan this time. 

He couldn’t let them get him again. He couldn’t let him get hurt again. He rubbed his thumb over his bandages on the injured hand. _Ray, I don’t want you to get hurt again either._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yoooo, @1stworldmutant to give me prompts, since this fic is almost up! D:


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: humiliation kink

Jeremy glanced around nervously, tapping the steering wheel. Ryan was currently checking out one of the buildings owned by Mortus Masi. Jeremy was the lookout/getaway driver. _This is so illegal!_ So much of his life had been devoted to becoming a detective and now he was lookout for the fucking _Vagabond_.

Unfortunately, they needed to find where the thieves (and maybe Ray) were being held. Without the ability to go to the police, their best bet was snooping. _Trespassing and possession of an unregistered firearm would be our charges._ Ryan jogged towards him with something under one arm. Oh good, it was full on burglary (in the first degree) now. _Way to upgrade us from a misdemeanor to a felony, Ryan._

“Go,” Ryan muttered as he slipped into the car.

He clicked his seat belt on before pulling the box properly into his lap. Jeremy frowned at it. _A shoebox? The hell did he get a shoebox in the Mortus Masi warehouse?_ He pulled off the lid and Jeremy peeked over while trying to focus on driving. _Fabric?_ It was the same deep green color and rough texture as the Yagi tapestry. _Was this the one that got replaced? Why is it in a shoebox? What the fuck is happening?_

Ryan pulled out the tapestry and Jeremy spied the two figures. They weren’t the same as the other one. For one, their blood was totally dried up, looking deep brown and flaky. It was more of a stain than a blood-soaked spot. The figures in the center were also oddly not mirror copies in different colors. One of them was significantly shorter and had breasts. 

“They’ve tried before,” Jeremy realized, paling, “They’ve sacrificed others before.”

“I only found Yiga,” Ryan muttered, “I wonder if they’ve never sacrificed vessels for the others.”

“Maybe they tried to use the two of one ritual,” Jeremy suggested, “To join Yiga before the summoning ritual.”

“Ah, in order to have one vessel for Yiga,” Ryan reasoned, “Perhaps they believe the two of one ritual is necessary to perform first?”

He put the tapestry down to open the backpack at his feet and pull out the forged copy of the Grimoire. He flipped through some pages and scowled at the book. Jeremy pulled to a stop at a red light and leaned over to peek at the book. 

“Can you read it?” Ryan questioned.

“Only a bit,” Jeremy begrudgingly admitted, “It’s talking about the joining of the twins, I think...”Yiga becomes one”, I think that says. We could really use the sequel grimoire. The one where they talk about the summoning ritual.”

The light turned green and he went back to driving. Unfortunately, according to Meg, there were no known surviving copies of the advanced version of the Mortus Masi grimoire. They could at least assume Mortus Masi had a hidden copy and that’s what they were basing their ideas on. But with no other copies, they were left in the dark. They were quiet the rest of the drive, the only sound being Ryan flipping pages until they got to Ryan’s place. Jeremy got out his map after he parked and sighed heavily.

“Nothing,” He grumbled, “Absolutely nothing. Where they hell are they keeping them? You can’t just hide a torture dungeon and three grown men.”

Ryan looked up from the book, frowning at him.

“Three?” He prompted.

Jeremy dropped his head against his steering wheel. Ray didn’t count. Ray was with them. _Maybe._

“Two, I mean,” he mumbled.

“Two of one,” Ryan muttered with a sigh, “Anyway, I don’t know what we should do. We’ve found no likely places for where they’re being held.”

“But if they do need to perform the two of one,” Jeremy piped up, “Then we have a lead there. We may have to dig a bit to see if the location would be the same.”

“At least we know they don’t need a Carver’s Circle,” Ryan snorted, “It seems Mortus Masi does all drawn circles. Convenient.”

“It’s travel friendly,” Jeremy joked. 

Ryan laughed and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

“Would you like to come in and have sex with me?” He offered bluntly, turning to look at Jeremy.

Jeremy blushed, whole body going warm and cleared his throat.

“Uh, y-yes,” he mumbled, “I-I’d like that.”

Ryan gave him a pleased grin and led the way. He barely paused to slip his shoes off and drop the backpack and the tapestry before grabbing Jeremy’s hand and dragging him to his bedroom. They eagerly pressed against each other, kissing deeply as they pushed their jackets off and fumbled with their pants. 

Ryan’s movements (of his mouth especially) started out aggressive, but he quickly backed down. He let Jeremy manhandle him onto the bed and yank off his clothes, groaning into his mouth at Jeremy’s rough hands. Jeremy pushed up between his legs, running a hand up his outer thigh as he pressed open-mouthed kisses down his jaw to his neck. He bit and sucked a nice dark red mark there as his lazily rolled his hips against Ryan’s.

“Lube?” He prompted as his hands ran over Ryan’s skin.

Ryan shook his head, wrapping his arms around Jeremy’s shoulders.

“I-I-I’m n-not r-ready,” he whimpered into Jeremy’s collarbone.

Jeremy smiled against his neck.

“Still want lube to jerk you off, baby,” he laughed.

Ryan’s face was warm against his skin as he pointed to the nightstand. Jeremy retrieved the lube and they both got a glob in their hand before closing their hands around each others’ cocks. Ryan groaned, squeezing almost too tightly.

“Ah, babe, th-that’s a bit hard,” Jeremy grunted.

“Your cock is so b-big,” Ryan said in answer, hand loosening somewhat, “I dunno if I c-can ever be ready for i-it.”

Jeremy choked, body burning suddenly.

“Th-Thank you?” He sputtered, “Are you trying to g-get me off qu-quickly?”

“No, I’m tr-trying to get you to c-call mine small,” Ryan grunted.

_Fucking hell._ Jeremy was fucking _struggling_ with Ryan’s bluntness. 

“Aw, it’s not so bad,” he muttered, “Some p-people like cute little dicks. Though I w-wonder how you ever top with such a... _subtle_ t-tool.”

Ryan groaned, jerking up into his fist. 

“Really, had you-you planned to fuck me with this?” Jeremy teased breathlessly, “Wouldn’t h-have been very satisfying, w-would it?”

Ryan’s breathing hitched.

“M-more,” he moaned, “Humiliate m-me more.”

_Fuck._ Jeremy took some shaky breaths.

“Damn, you’re slutty,” He gasped, “What a s-sloppy little whore you are. Get-getting off on me b-being mean to you? What a p-pervert.”

Ryan’s body rocked against him and his hand sped up on Jeremy’s dick. Jeremy took this as a cue to speed up his own.

“Are you a pervert, Ryan?” He growled in his ear.

“Y-Yes, sir,” Ryan whimpered.

“What el-else could I make you do, I wonder,” Jeremy panted, “Could I chain you to th-the wall? Make you lick your own c-cum off the ground? Could I put a c-cute little collar on you that says “bitch”?”

Ryan cried out as he came and Jeremy shuddered. _Collar, huh?_ He looked down at Ryan’s throat, picturing leather laid across it. _Fuck._ He grunted as he jerked into Ryan’s hand and spilled all over it. He grabbed tissues, careful not to break contact with Ryan who clung to him. 

“I got you, baby,” he murmured as he cleaned them off, “You’re okay.”

He brushed his hand through Ryan’s hair as they settled onto their sides. Ryan fell asleep, body relaxed against Jeremy, despite how closely he clung to him. Jeremy’s heart squeezed. _I love him._ He kissed his forehead. _I love him too fucking much for my own good._

~

“Sir Jeremy,” Ryan called to him, “Come here.”

Jeremy knelt before him, head bowed.

“My king?” He prompted.

“Look at me,” Ryan ordered.

Jeremy’s head lifted. Ryan was leaning on his hand, elbow propped against the arm of the throne. His cracked, golden crown was tilted on his chestnut locks. He was giving Jeremy a bored, lazy sort of look.

“Do you desire me, Sir Jeremy?” He questioned, voice low.

Jeremy’s face went red and his head dropped.

“M-my King?” He sputtered, “I-I d-don’t-“

“Jeremy, look at me,” Ryan ordered, firmer this time.

Jeremy’s head tilted back up slowly, his eyes drawn to the bulge making an appearance under Ryan’s kilt. He looked up at Ryan’s icy blue eyes, darkened with arousal.

“Do _you_ desire _me_ , my king?” He whispered.

Ryan smirked at him, beckoning him forward with one finger. Jeremy was pulled towards him by an unseen force. Tugged along a line, taut between the two of them. Ryan patted his lap where his kilt was doing nothing to cover his arousal. Jeremy stood and straddled his lap, breathing ragged as their crotches rubbed together.

“My love,” Ryan whispered, voice rougher than usual, “My darling. Shall we become one?”

“I cannot grant this wish,” Jeremy answered, confusing himself.

Jeremy’s brain was going fuzzy. _What the fuck is happening?_ Suddenly he was warm, sweaty, dizzy.

“You refuse me?!” Ryan demanded, “You belong to me!”

His hands gripped Jeremy’s biceps, searing his flesh. Jeremy began to cry.

“We must have earthly bodies,” He sobbed, “I cannot take you this way. You would destroy me.”

Jeremy huffed as the burning disappeared. Ryan growled in annoyance, dropping back against the throne.

“Then create them!” He grunted, “How can we live if we do not come together?”

“We will, my love,” Jeremy answered, quietly, “Of my children will be born those we may live through.”

Ryan grinned at him, face pleased and excited. Fire erupted from where their crotches pressed together and Jeremy’s mouth opened in a silent scream. He gasped, suddenly bolting upright in Ryan’s bed. The pain disappeared so quickly he trembled. Ryan sat up next to him, rubbing his eyes.

“Jer?” He mumbled tiredly, “Bad dream?”

He reached for him and Jeremy flinched. That seemed to wake him up a bit. 

“What is it?” He asked, “Nightmare?”

Jeremy relaxed, rubbing his face.

“S-something like that,” he muttered, “Sorry for waking you.”

Ryan touched his shoulder gently.

“It’s alright,” he assured him, “You want-“

Jeremy suddenly slapped his hand over his mouth. His spider sense was tingling. _Ray’s here. He’s here to grab Ryan no doubt._ Ryan straightened up, looking like he heard something Jeremy didn’t. They slipped off the bed and quietly got their underwear on. They had to at least cover their junk if they were going to have to fight. 

Underwear on and guns in hand, they approached the bedroom door. Before they could even decide if they were waiting or going, Jeremy felt his tingling switch course and he whipped around, pointing his gun at the closet door. The bedroom door swung open and then the closet door followed. Jeremy could see Ray’s bleached hair under the beanie now, which his eyes were drawn to for some reason instead of the fucking gas mask he was wearing. He wobbled suddenly, staggering to the side as he tried to keep his balance. 

“R-Ryan,” He rasped as his vision started to blur, “R-Ryan.”

He fell to the ground, gun dropping as he landed. It skidded away from him and he watched as Ray’s hazy form crouched down and picked it up. Jeremy reached for him, hand falling on one black and white shoe.

“Ray,” he whispered, “They... will... kill... you... run.”

His eyes closed and just as he faded, he could swear he heard Ray’s voice in his head. _I know, lover. Why do you think I’m working with them?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ryan was just too tired to be properly shy today. :P 
> 
> Anyway, @1stworldmutant for less comedy, more depression.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: non-con kissing, cuts/bleeding

Jeremy felt his guts seize as he regain consciousness. He tried not to hurl as he blinked himself fully awake. He was chained to something. He looked around groggily, trying to see what he was attached to and where the the hell he was. A wall and in a dungeon turned out to be the answers.

Attached to the other walls of the dungeon, he could see three more figures. He blinked heavily, trying to clear the left over grogginess of the gas. One of the forms he recognized right away, even in the low light and hazy brain. He immediately started crawling towards him.

“Ryan?” He rasped, throat dry, “Ryan, can you hear me?”

Ryan began to stir from where he laid on the floor. Jeremy’s chain stopped him long before he could reach him. No doubt on purpose. 

“Ryan!” He called, “Ryan, wake up!”

Ryan shifted, suddenly rolling into a defensive crouch. Jeremy reached for him weakly and he relaxed slightly, crawling towards him to meet him halfway. Jeremy nearly started crying when he saw their fingers mere inches apart. They were tormenting him. That’s why they sent Ray before, that’s why they waited until _after_ he met Collins to nab him, and it’s why they put Ryan so close yet so far. He pressed his face into the concrete floor, resisting the urge to sob. _Why are they doing this to me?_

“V-vagabond, is...is that really you?” A voice called to Ryan.

Jeremy looked up, squinting through the darkness. 

“He goes by Haywood now,” Collins’ voice corrected quickly.

“It’s fine,” Ryan grunted, “Are you two injured?”

“Just a bit,” Collins answered, “They cut our hands a little.”

Jeremy pushed himself up. Right, people were in danger, he had to do something. 

“Who’s the pretty one then?” The voice from earlier called.

_Diaz,_ Jeremy’s mind supplied.

“Dooley,” Ryan answered, “But I’d suggest keeping your observations on his appearance to yourself. He’s already betrothed.”

“Very funny, Ry,” Jeremy snorted, rolling his eyes, “So any plans?”

“I’m considering trying to choke to death on my own tongue,” Collins very helpfully provided.

“Great, so let’s see what other ideas we have first,” Jeremy suggested, “Ones that don’t involve suicide, preferably.”

“Not really,” Diaz answered, “There’s little we can do here. They do have a lot of security.”

“Great,” Jeremy grumbled, leaning back against the concrete wall, “So our best bet is to wait until the ritual when we’re moved.”

“We need to coordinate,” Ryan pointed out, “Need to make sure we’re-“

“Shh!” Jeremy interrupted suddenly, “He’s here.”

Sure enough, after a moment’s pause, the door opened and Ray walked in.

“Hello, lover!” He greeted Jeremy cheerfully, “How’d you sleep?”

“Like a rock tossed off a mountain,” Jeremy grunted.

Ray laughed as someone else came in behind him and started handing the food. He stepped towards the other person, purposely jostling them as they held out a tray of food to Ryan. Ryan’s face twisted into a scowl as the food was dumped over him.

“Haha, oops!” Ray laughed, “Aw. Too bad, bitch. Guess you’ll have to wait til next time.”

Jeremy was up, straining against the chain on his wrist as he tried to swipe at Ray who grinned at him. He was just out of reach. 

“I’m going to kill you myself,” Jeremy snarled.

Ray’s grin turned manic, eyes widening.

“Good,” he answered, voice low.

~

They really had no clue how much time had passed when someone came in carrying cloth. They knelt in front of Ryan, spreading the maroon cloth out between them. It was identical to the other, except it looked much newer. Ryan let them take his hand and cut it. 

They whispered words as Ryan’s blood spilled down his palm, dripping onto the cloth. At that distance, with that color of fabric, Jeremy couldn’t see the blood spreading on it. His chest squeezed, seeing Ryan’s blood like that. He wanted to stop them, but they just didn’t have the options to do so.

After they finished with Ryan, they brought a blue tapestry to him. Again, he looked like the one on the wall in the chapel. With one exception: the middle figure was shorter than the others. Jeremy rolled his eyes as his palm was cut. He got distracted from his own blood spreading to see that Amasi was already bled on. _So they do think Ray is Amasi?_

“Masi, we bring you your womb,” the person was whispering, “May it be fertile flesh for Faw’s seed.”

Jeremy almost gagged at the wording. _Ugh, no thank you._ The person moved to wipe off Jeremy’s hand. They suddenly screamed, body convulsing. Their hand on Jeremy’s tightened into a vice grip and Jeremy tried to push them off.

“Of blood,” the person shrieked, “Of blood, you must take control!”

Others were tugging on the person’s shoulders and arms while Jeremy tried to shake them off.

“You will see your path!” They screamed, “You must take it for all of the children!”

Jeremy’s hand felt like it was going to break as he pulled against the grip. The person’s eyes fluttered.

“It’s is imprisonment,” they whispered, “He’s controlling...her.”

They fainted, finally releasing Jeremy who shuffled backwards away from them and the other cultists. Was this the Weaver Meg told them about? Or a mystic as she called them? He rubbed his hand, wincing at the pain. Were they all so obviously Salem witchcraft trials? Jeremy rolled his eyes.

_Of blood._ Ray’s mother had called him that. Was this because they thought him to be the reincarnation of Gemasi? He looked down at his hand, covered in his own blood. _Speak of the devil._ Ray knelt down in front of him to wipe up the wound and put a bandage on it. He turned over his own right palm to show Jeremy his own cut. It was still healing, but was fairly old by then.

“So you _are_ Amasi’s reincarnation?” Jeremy mumbled.

“Vessel,” Ray corrected, “Reincarnation would imply I am her, reborn. We’re only bodies to be used for housing them.”

“So are there many vessels?” Jeremy questioned.

“There’s a few,” Ray admitted with a shrug, “Each generation has several potential vessels. Except for Faw. He only has one vessel every hundred years.”

That would certainly explain why the cult is so quiet about it: discovering the one vessel in time to do the ritual must take a lot of boring legwork. No point in writing that down. Ray reached towards him and Jeremy flinched. Ray frowned at him and held his jaw in his right hand. He could feel the cut rubbing against his beard and his own right palm throbbed. The image of Ray bleeding onto the tapestry churned his stomach.

“They’re going to hurt you,” He whispered, “You should run while you still can.”

Ray smiled at him. It was gentle and soft, affection and caring clear in his eyes.

“Darling, we must die,” he answered quietly, “Together. We’re soulmates you know. Soulmates destined for tragedy. I wasn’t lying, in that alleyway. You are all I was ever prepared for.”

Jeremy didn’t have long to process the thought before Ray pressed their lips together.

“In a fair universe,” he muttered, “We’d be together.”

“Doubtful,” Jeremy snorted, “Not if it’s a fair universe.”

Ray laughed and pressed another kiss on his lips, this one a bit more inviting than the last. His lips parted, trying to encourage Jeremy to participate. 

_Come on, lover. I’ve waited so long for you._

Jeremy frowned, trying to pull away, but Ray’s hand shifted, wrapping around his throat. Jeremy swallowed, his throat bobbing under Ray’s hand. The kiss was interrupted when Ray was suddenly seized and thrown across the room. 

Ryan’s glaring eyes softened as he crouched down to check on Jeremy. He touched his cheek and bumped their foreheads together. Jeremy’s hand covered his and he kissed him gently.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, “I couldn’t just watch.”

Cultists arrived and pulled them apart, dragging Ryan and Ray both off through the door. Ryan’s shackle dragged along the floor after him, the broken chain revealing how he’d gotten to Jeremy’s side. Ray looked like he’d hit his head pretty badly when Ryan tossed him. Jeremy’s own head throbbed at the thought. A few minutes later, cultists returned with clothing for the remaining three of them. 

Jeremy was more than a little nervous. He was fucking terrified. _This must it. It’s time._ His hands trembled as they unlocked his shackle and got the robes on him. They took his underwear, a fact that painfully reminded him that they expected him to have sex with Ryan in front of them. After he was dressed, the hood was pulled over his head and handcuffs circled his wrists. 

His heart pounded in his chest as they were led out of the dungeon into the chapel Greg had shown him. _It was here the whole time?! Fucking hell!_ The pews had been moved against the walls and dozens of cultists were standing about. Jeremy was taken to a circle drawn on the ground in front of the altar. His knee was kicked, forcing him to a kneel. Diaz and Collins were treated likewise and then the cultists emerged with a squirming fourth figure. 

“I’m telling you! You’re making a mistake!” Gavin’s voice shouted from under the hood.

“Gavin?!” Jeremy called out in surprise.

The hooded person’s head jerked around to look at him.

“Jeremy?!” He greeted back, “Do you know what the hell is happening right now?!”

He was dragged to Jeremy’s left side and forcibly knelt down.

“Uh, cliff notes?” Jeremy offered, “This cult wants to kill us and use our bodies as vessels for their gods.”

“For the love of...” Gavin grumbled, sighing, “This is not going to go well.”

“Aw, such a downer,” Meg’s voice called out.

She stepped forward, throwing back her hood and grinning.

“Meg...you _know_ this can’t work!” Gavin hissed at her.

“Oh it can,” she assured him, “Just you wait.”

Jeremy sighed heavily and glanced over his shoulder.

“Anyone else know me?” He threw out dryly.

“Mm, you still don’t get it, do you?” Meg mused, “No worries. All will soon become clear.”

Jeremy gave her a flat, exasperated look as Ray and Ryan were dragged into place. Ryan’s eyes were unfocused and he looked drunk as he stumbled along. Ray sat willingly to Jeremy’s right while Ryan was guided to the position between Diaz and Gavin. 

“The whole gang’s here,” Jeremy muttered bitterly.

“Finally,” Ray’s voice whispered from within the hood.

_Finally,_ his voice echoed in Jeremy’s mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one might be a bit boring and long, but hopefully it provides the rest of the ingredients for the last chapter! :D
> 
> @1stworldmutant for more heavy sarcasm.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: Non-con drug use, forced ritual sex, burning, cutting, blood

The cultists moved around them, dropping dried plants of various types over them, behind them, and into the circle. They were speaking the Masian language, Jeremy thought. He kept catching different words that he knew. Most prominently death and blood.

They removed one of his cuffs and one of Gavin’s to cuff them to each other and Ray. Jeremy thought of the picture with the golden thread connecting them. His temples throbbed as he imagined what they could’ve done to make that a reality. He squeezed his eyes closed and held Gavin and Ray’s hands tightly. 

_It’s okay. We’re going to be part of something greater._

Ray’s words did not calm his nerves. He trembled and his heart pounded in his chest. _What do I do? Ma, I...I wish you were here._ He forced his eyes open to look at Ryan whose head was bowed. His hands were over his lap, pressing down. _Is he...hard? What did they give him?_ He felt a tug on his heart, Ryan’s soul calling to him for help. 

Meg was stepping toward the twins now, taking out a dagger and splitting open their unwounded palms. They were then directed to press their bloody hands into symbols of the circle. Jeremy looked at the circle more closely. 

The symbols, he recognized them. They were Creator symbols, not Masian. Sun, moon, air, earth, water in front of them. The two moon symbols now had bloody hand prints on them. Meg moved to Ryan next, who protested, but eventually let her take one hand while the other kept his boner mostly covered. She pressed his palm to the sun symbol. She moved to Gavin.

“Turney, this can’t work!” He hissed, “You _know_ it can’t!”

She grinned at him, eyes filled with mischief. She cut his palm and he sighed as he pressed it into the water symbol. Jeremy didn’t struggle, seeing no point in bothering. Meg moved to Ray who let his hand get cut and pressed to the symbol. The cultists began speaking, some of the words once again familiar to Jeremy. 

They came forward and removed their hoods simultaneously. Head pieces were put on each of them, ones that matched the illustrations in Meg’s book. Jeremy hissed as the twig crown was placed on his head. It was thorny and dug in his scalp, pressing hard enough that blood dripped down his head. Jeremy’s head throbbed and his chest ached. He felt dizzy and sick.

The cuffs were removed from his wrists and he was hauled to his feet. They sat him in the middle of the circle and his heart began pounding. Ryan was in front of him looking like he was in pain. _It’s time. They’re going to make him fuck me._ They pushed Jeremy to his back and he started shaking. His legs were propped up, his knees spread in front of Ryan.

“St-stop,” Ryan groaned, “Pl-please!”

They arranged Jeremy’s robes so he was on full display for Ryan. He couldn’t lie still any more, he couldn’t let it happen. He lifted, struggling against the cultists. 

“L-let me go!” He cried, “You sick f-fucks!”

“Mr. Dooley,” Hurt’s voice suddenly spoke up, “If you keep struggling, _you_ will not be in pain.”

Jeremy froze at the wording. He swallowed, looking around him. Guns were pointed at each of the others. Hurt removed his hood and stepped within his eye range. Jeremy began to silently cry as he relaxed back to the floor. 

Tears and blood dripped from him as he was rearranged back where they wanted him. Ryan’s cuffs were removed and he was dragged to a kneeling position in front of Jeremy. He made a pained noise, gripping one of Jeremy’s thighs. 

“I-it’s okay,” Jeremy whispered, “It’s okay. J-just focus on me.”

Ryan pushed up between his legs, leaning over him. He bumped his forehead to Jeremy’s. He was panting harshly.

“I’m s-sorry, I’m sorry,” he cried, tears dripping to Jeremy’s face.

Jeremy smiled at him, brought up his left hand to hold his cheek.

“It’s okay, love,” He whispered, “Just focus on me. Can you do that, baby?”

“Y-Yes, sir,” Ryan whimpered.

Jeremy held up his bloody right hand and Ryan pressed his bloody left to it. As their blood mixed, Jeremy felt fire burn up his wrist and arm. His face twisted up in pain as the fire seared its way to his heart. 

“Jeremy?! J-Jeremy?!” Ryan cried out, “What is it?!”

Jeremy’s eyes struggled to focus on Ryan’s panicked face floating above him. His heart was pumping fiery blood, sending pulses of pain throughout his body. 

_I’m going to hurt him! Just like everyone else!_ Ryan’s voice was speaking in his brain. _I’m going to burn him up! Please! Don’t make me do this! I love him!_

“I’m okay,” Jeremy grunted, “We’re okay. Come on now, focus.”

Ryan sighed, bumping their foreheads together again.

“I’ll try to be gentle,” He whispered.

“You’re starting now?” Jeremy teased, “Let’s go. Our friends are depending on us. Let’s give ‘em a show.”

_You stupid, beautiful man. You’d do anything for anyone, wouldn’t you?_ Ryan’s voice echoed in his skull. Ryan spat in his free hand and rubbed it over himself, lining up and pushing into him. Jeremy tried to focus on the asshole burn instead of the blood burn, but it didn’t work. He huffed and grunted as Ryan carefully rocked into him. 

“Little faster, baby,” Jeremy wheezed, “L-let’s get done.”

Ryan picked up the pace, squeezing Jeremy’s hand, his eyes squeezing closed too. 

_ Jeremy. _

“Wh-What?” Jeremy grunted.

“What?” Ryan echoed.

Jeremy narrowed his eyes. _What?_

_Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy! Jeremy! Jeremy!_

Jeremy’s brain throbbed with Ryan’s screaming of his name. He was too distracted by the brain-screaming and blood-burning to register Ryan cumming inside him with a groan. Ryan pressed their lips together.

“Jeremy, I love you,” He whispered urgently, “I love you!”

They started pulling him away and he squeezed tighter to his hand.

“I love you!” He called, “Jeremy! I love you!”

“I love you too!” Jeremy cried, “I love you too! It-it’s g-gonna be okay! Ryan, it-it’s okay, it’s gonna be o-okay!”

Their hands broke contact and the burning in Jeremy’s blood subsided. He squeezed his eyes closed against his tears. The cultists were moving again, he heard hisses of pain and then he felt warm rain. It seared into his skin and he screamed in pain as it burned through him. His blood screaming, his brain began to scream in the voices of his fellow vessels. 

_Trevor! Oh god, look at all the blood!_

_Fredo, it’s cold, why is it so cold?!_

_Jeremy! Jeremy! Let go of me! Let me go! Jeremy!_

_Jeremy...you’re not supposed to be in pain. They said you wouldn’t feel pain!_

_Fuck, is that...did I do that? Is it my fault?!_

Jeremy arched off the floor and rose up. His screaming went silent as blood poured into him and flowed back out. _I’m burning alive._ The screams of his friends echoed in his mind, pounding in his skull. _Burning. Dying. Hurting. They’re in pain._

“STOP!” He screamed, his eyes flying open.

The scream seemed to send a pulse through the room and the world froze. His pain dulled to an ache as a mirror appeared above him. _No._ Another him. Not a mirror. The other him smiled softly.

“Masi?” He whispered.

“Hello, Weaver,” she spoke, in his voice, “You have finally woken. I fear I have no time to explain. I need you to fulfill your purpose.”

“My purpose?” Jeremy grumbled, “My destiny? To be your vessel?”

“Yes,” she confirmed, “However, I need more of you.”

“I’m exhausted already,” Jeremy muttered dryly.

“Your love, the Mad King,” she spoke quietly, “He must take my love, the father sun. He must be trapped in the mortal body, so he may be killed.”

Jeremy scowled.

“No,” he answered firmly, “Find another way.”

His own eyes widened at him.

“You do not understand,” she insisted, “He must be destroyed for the sake of all my children. Even these that are lost and call to him.”

“Tell your children to suck my dick,” Jeremy growled, “I’m not killing _my_ love just because _you_ can’t pussy up and kill yours yourself.”

Masi twisted his face into a scowl of disgust.

“You were made for this purpose!” She hissed, “You _must_ do this!”

“No,” he repeated, “I’m not killing Ryan and I will not let _you_ kill him.”

She sighed.

“You have no choice,” she muttered, “You cannot deny me.”

She reached for him, but hissed when she touched him. Her hands came back covered in burns and boils.

“What is this?!” She shrieked, “The blood is tainted?!”

She jerked his head to look at Gavin.

“What is this creature?!” She screamed, “What have you tainted my vessel with?!”

“That “creature” is my friend,” Jeremy snarled, “And I am _not_ your vessel, bitch.”

His body pulsed as a wave of something came from him, pushing her away from him. _Dude, I got fucking force powers! No clue how to use them though._ He slammed his foot into his nuts and punched him in the face. 

“Fighting myself is therapeutic,” he muttered as she shrieked.

She disappeared as he slowly turned to a vertical position. His bare feet pressed to the cold floor. The world began to move sluggishly as red thread appeared, connected to himself and everyone around him. _Weaver._ He looked to his hands where his friends’ blood still covered them. It woke him up, it gave him power.

“How do I give it back to them?” He whispered.

The blood lifted off him, some of it out of him, and floated off towards the rightful owners. He wobbled as it left him, the world speeding back up. He could feel the power draining away as the blood left him. _How do I make sure they’re okay?_

Burning began again, this time originating from his own heart. _I see. I understand. I use my own blood to save them._ He closed his eyes as his blood dripping from his head, from the thorny crown, began to lift from him. As his own blood left him, he grew weak. He dropped to his knees. 

“Ryan?” He called weakly.

“Jeremy?” Ryan called back, “I-I’m here.”

He put his arms around Jeremy.

“Y-you can stop,” He whispered, urgently, “We’re safe, you can st-stop. You’re dying! J-Jeremy, stop it!”

“I don’t know how,” Jeremy answered, chuckling weakly, “Ry, I just...fought a bitch goddess... to save your life...Make my funeral amazing...I love you.”

“Jeremy, don’t g-go!” Ryan sobbed, “Pl-please! D-don’t leave me! Please! I n-need you! I love you!”

“Silly boy, you don’t need me,” Jeremy rasped as he faded, “You never needed me. _I_ needed _you.”_

His vision went black and he felt himself tumble into the void.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end has come again, my loves~! ^_^ May your path stay lit, little stars! ✨
> 
> @1stworldmutant if you want to scream at me in two more places. :D


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